Chaotic Dynamics
by Tobmaster
Summary: I had a lot of stray ideas of AU worlds that wouldn't end up being a full fiction, so I figured out a weird twist to bring them into one story: Starts as a "Butterfly Effect" style story and transitions into a 'next generation' one (Children of the mains). Many firsts for me, so I hope you enjoy... Of course, like all my stories, it is Naru/Hina
1. Chapter 1

**Chaotic Dynamics: The Butterfly Effect**

For the record, I own nothing pertaining to the series of Naruto - this is purely a fan fiction for fun

**Side note**: I am now taking requests for a new story. My recent ideas haven't been panning out the way I'd like them to, so this will be **_my_** last story of 2012. If you'd like to see more from me, let me know in a review for this story or a PM. If you have a good idea that suits my style, I'll write it - this was how Ramen Gone Astray was created years ago and it actually became one of my favorites.

Hope to hear from you...

And don't forget to check out my portal of Oneshots... I've added a few

Check out the first review for this story... Its been so long since I got a flame... I'm just so happy!

* * *

"I don't know what it is that you want from me right now Hinata… I really don't… I just can't, I… I'm sorry." Naruto walked away from the small Hyuuga girl, glancing back at her on his way out of the training grounds. She watched as he left, his figure disappearing into the light of the nearly setting sun; a scene which would usually elicit joy in her heart was pouring out a downpour of sadness

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata looked down at her feet as a solitary tear streaked down her cheek. Her heart felt like it was pulled from her chest and thrown to the wayside like a useless piece of garbage. Never had she thought that rejection would make her feel so empty and useless. Had she known that prior, she wouldn't have ever said a single word.

* * *

Naruto couldn't help but feel bad for her, despite how heartless he may have seemed in their conversation. She had finally gotten enough courage to confess to him and he had nothing to say when she brought it up again. It wasn't that he was ignoring the first one; it was just that he didn't have a good answer for her. He still had mixed feelings for Sakura and although Hinata was awfully cute, he couldn't bring himself to get into something halfheartedly. She deserved at least that much respect since he couldn't recall even the slightest bit of unkindness from her in the past. Looking over his shoulder, he could tell that she was very saddened by his answer and it did bother him, but until he could make sense of his heart, he couldn't give a proper reply.

He ran outside of Konoha and stopped in the middle of a dense forest and leapt up onto a tree limb. Sitting down on the large branch, he attempted to reflect upon just what had transpired recently. First on his mind was just how the past unfolded that led to him being right there at that precise moment in time. The battle with Obito and Madara during the war was a major turning point in his life. The battle was hard fought and had it not been for the intervention of the entire ninja forces coming to his aid, Naruto wouldn't have been able to defeat them.

Although that was difficult, it was even more difficult when they brought Sasuke back. Even after beating him within an inch of his life, he refused to return to Konoha, the village he despised for eradicating his clan. Had the retrieval team thought he was that opposed to it, they would have searched him for the pill he swallowed, ending his life on his terms just as they entered the village. His promise of a life time was fulfilled but Sasuke's selfishness still dampened everyone's life. Through all those events in the past year and a half, nothing seemed to be as difficult as feelings of the heart.

That brought him to the problem between his female teammate and a certain friend. For as long as he could remember, he had been after the pink haired kunoichi. Asking for dates, buying gifts, and even trying his best to be kind and polite to her was his usual approach. He attempted all things in a grasp for her attention and received nothing but a smack or got called stupid by the girl he was after. When he left for his training mission with Jiraiya, he thought that just maybe when he returned, her attitude would be better.

Finally the day came for his return and her attitude had changed. She was still harsh, but there was an underlying softness maturing in her. This gave a spark of hope and to his surprise, when they were going on a mission to take back Sasuke; she confessed her love to him. How long had he waited for those words but it felt hollow and empty; words that had no feeling, they were just words. It seemed like she was only doing it to convince him to stop trying to bring their ex-teammate back to the village; at the risk of his own life and sanity. When thinking about why her words felt empty he recalled the words haunting him, expressed by the quiet and shy Hinata.

He never noticed the dark haired little girl throughout the academy. He never noticed her muttered phrases of support or the obvious signs of affection and intrigue she displayed on her cheeks. Had she actually been more vocal during those times, she would have surely gotten the fan she desired in him, but it wasn't in her nature. She always felt awkward and lightheaded being anywhere near him, but for some reason he would also instill happiness and confidence at the same time, moving her to fight for he own success.

He first learned of her hidden abilities in the chuunin exam and he was amazed by it. She was so small and yet so strong, without a doubt he knew she was the strongest kunoichi from their class. He also learned though a few words of encouragement she gave him during the finals of the exam, that she was a great person with a wonderful heart and despite being weird and awkward; he actually liked people like her. Unfortunately her shyness and introversion didn't allow her to capitalize on those events, nor on the events during random missions with Naruto before he ended up leaving on his training trip with the legendary sanin.

When he returned 3 years later, Hinata realized just how much her admiration of the young blonde grew in that time. Her heart would beat uncontrollably when she only thought of him and her voice would shake when her team talked of his return. Then one day, she heard his voice and froze not knowing what to say. When she suddenly felt a presence next to her, she turned and saw his smiling face looking into her eyes, causing her to promptly pass out from the shock. Eventually that led to her realizing how deep her feelings actually ran for him.

Gone was the desire to help him and be inspired by him as it was replaced with the desire to be next to him and just be with him. What had started out as a schoolgirl crush, blossomed into full blown infatuation. She then decided to gather up all her courage and make an effort to tell him what she truly thought of him when his life was threatened and she couldn't imagine living without his presence in the world and gladly risked her life to save him and make sure he knew that there was someone who would love him.

This was what was bothering him. There were two cute young women he could choose to go after, the one he liked from the beginning, with hollow words, and the one who actually liked him which actually confused him. Logically you'd choose the one willing to give it a go, over the one who was very reluctant, but rarely are feelings logical. As a result of his confusion, he just tried to put it off until he could figure it out. Unfortunately, Hinata didn't want to wait as long of a time as he was taking and sought him out to see if he had anything to say about it. That of course led to the altercation which consequently steered him to sit up high in a tree on a large branch.

"Why does this confuse me more than figuring out the rasengan?" He asked himself, ignoring the calm breeze rustling through the leaves.

His mind was still running with the switch flipped to high and couldn't relax his body. The young teen sighed and decided to try something he's never done before, meditation. He sat motionless in the tree, feeling the relaxing waves of nature chakra flowing around his body from his hours of training. The soothing and relaxing movements of the chakra seemed to lull away the confusion. He focused on the feeling harder, going deeper and deeper, past the feeling of going sage. Soon there was a weird feeling, something tugging on him to go after that sensation. When he reached out for that feeling, a bright burst of light washed over his senses. His eyes opened and revealed an empty, perfectly white room, perfectly the same on walls and ceiling.

Floating Images of the past floated above him, allowing him to look back at each and every event in his life, there were even some things from earlier on in life which he had forgotten altogether. His emotions ran wild across his face, moments of joy and sorrow, as well as anger, was brought on by the pictures in his mind. When he saw one particular moment, when he and Sasuke were bumped together at the academy, he reached out in disgust and wanted to destroy that memory. Almost like the place read his mind, the pictures of his memories disappeared, replaced by a strange looking icon hovering above his head. He was sure the wording said something, but it was clearly foreign. He looked at it and got a sudden urge to touch it, causing him to reach out. Upon contact, there was another flash of white light blinding his sight. He shielded his eyes from the light and heard a muffled sound from beside him…

* * *

"Naruto! Move your ass! I want to sit on the other side of you!"

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes popped open when the sound rang clearly. Revealed before his eyes was shoulder length pink hair and a pissed off green eyes looking down on him. Without waiting for an answer from the annoying blonde, she shoved his face to the ground to get around him

"Sasuke-kun, Can I sit next to you?!" She screamed after making it over the orange clad boy's crumpled form.

'_What the hell is going on?"_ Naruto asked himself. He looked over at Sakura and then to Sasuke. _'This is just like the day when we got our teams. Is this some sort of memory?'_ He felt himself rise from his seat and jump onto the table in front of Sasuke and started glaring into his eyes. He knew what was coming next.

"MOVE DAMN IT!" He shouted out loud before back flipping over the student who had bumped him in his previous memory. When he landed, all eyes were upon him, trying to figure out what that sudden outburst and movement was since it was not something he has ever shown.

"Naruto, take your seat." Iruka ordered while looking at the small blonde, himself wondering what that was.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei." He replied, and then grabbed his throat _'What the hell was that, my voice doesn't sound like that.'_ He sat down next to Sakura and looked at his hands. They were small and stubby, but still moved to his will. _'This is fucked up…but I avoided kissing Sasuke, thank god.'_ His thoughts were then drowned out by the loud voice of his chuunin teacher.

"Beginning today, all of you are real ninjas, but you are still merely rookie 'genin'. The hard part has just started." Naruto decided his speech wasn't as important as what was happening to him, so he decided to ignore him.

'_Now I'm curious…'_ Naruto moved his hands again and felt his face curl up into a grin and he hatched a fun test. He looked around the classroom once more and then noticed a small girl with really short hair looking at him while tapping her index fingers together. Her pale eyes widened and her cheeks blushed when she saw him looking at her and promptly looked away. _'Wow, she really did watch me back then… was she always that sweet and innocent?'_

"Today we will be creating the three man teams…" Iruka started again, this was the cue Naruto was waiting for with his previous devilish thought.

"You better not put me on the same team as that asshole Sasuke!" The blonde shouted. He looked very surprised when Iruka looked down at him; he had actually heard him…

'_Holy shit, that worked!' _He felt the hatred of his neighbor radiating off of her and knew he was going to be in for it. _'Oh crap…' _ He felt the sharp knuckles of Sakura's fists crack him right in the back of his head, knocking him forward while he held his eyes shut.

* * *

"Ahhh shit!" He shouted when he felt the acceleration from his body falling. He opened his eyes just to see the forest floor racing towards him.

"Only a dream, only a dream." He chanted while cringing, until the force of the fall pushed all the wind out of him, leaving him rolling on the ground trying to gasp for any bit of air to avoid the pain of suffocating.

"F… Fuck!" He finally managed to curse after getting a bit of air into his lungs. He continued rolling on the ground, clutching at his sides until the sharp pain dulled enough that he could bring himself to stand.

"What the hell was that?" He wondered while looking up from the forest and towards the tree limb he was meditating on. He stood up with a groan and could smell the scent of blood overwhelm his senses. Touching his nose, he could feel a sharp pain and saw red on his fingertips when he looked at them.

"Great, now my nose is broken too." He muttered before heading in the direction of Konoha to get his nose looked at.

It would have been an enjoyable walk through the comfortable forest had it not been for the throbbing pain. The sun was a few minutes from setting and the air was just cool enough to make for pleasant conditions. And if your nose wasn't broken you'd probably enjoy the fragrant smell of the pine trees floating in the air around the trees in the forest. Naruto walked through the gates of Konoha while holding his nose in an attempt to help it feel better.

"Ooh you pervert." Cooed a scantily clad woman standing outside a public bath after looking at his bloody nose. He looked up in surprise and looked at her with a puzzled look

"Huh, no, I broke my nose." He corrected before moving around her cautiously, thinking she was on something.

'_Strange, I don't remember a bath being here.'_ He walked towards the Hospital and passed three more open baths along the way, further making him wonder.

'_Now I know there wasn't this many.'_ Looking up from his hand, he then noticed a face on the Hokage monument was different from his recollection.

"What the hell is Ero-sennin's face doing up there!" He shouted while pointing at the grinning old man's face carved into the front of the monument.

"I must have hit the ground harder than I thought." The young man continued on until entering the doors to the hospital, which he knew so well.

"Excuse me sir, how can I help you?" Asked the medic behind the counter he looked at her and couldn't place who she was, which in and of itself was something since he knew everyone in the hospital.

"Sir? Oh well… I've got a broken nose." He informed the woman.

"Okay, just fill out these forms in triplicate and we will be right with you."

"You're kidding right?" He asked after seeing the short stack of paper handed to him. She looked back at him with an impatient glare, showing she wasn't kidding. He sat down before suspiciously looking around for anyone that would thwart his plans. When he saw no one was looking at him, he brought out two clones to help with the paperwork.

With the papers filled out, he was eventually led to a room where he waited… and waited… and waited. Finally the door opened, revealing a young brown haired woman, followed by a large breasted blonde.

"What do we have now?" The blonde woman asked her personal medic assistant.

"Looks like it is a possible nasal fracture caused by a fall."

"Thank you Shizune"

"Hey, baa-chan, can we just get this taken care of so I can leave?" Tsunade looked at the young guy like he was asking for a beating with a twitching eyebrow.

"Who're you calling 'granny' you little shit?" She asked angrily.

'Fucking little shit ninja.' She muttered under her breath. She didn't say a word while she started healing the bone in the surprised orange clad ninja's face.

"What's up your butt?" Naruto asked after he failed to figure out what the deal was.

"You should really have more respect. I didn't have to come back to train these medic ninja, I did so because Jiraiya asked me to. Now shut up and get out." She ordered, on the verge of breaking him in two after just healing him.

"Wow, you that sore because someone made your face look like ero-sennin?" He asked, but quickly decided it wasn't a good idea when she started cracking her knuckles.

"You trying to start a fight with me you little fuck?"

"Fine, I'll leave." Naruto didn't know what to think, first was the open baths, then Jiraiya's face on the monument, and now Tsunade was acting like she didn't even know him. He walked out of the hospital and yawned while looking at the night sky.

'_I think I should just go to bed and figure this out in the morning'_ Naruto took off to the roof tops and ran towards his small apartment. He didn't really need much anyways, being single. He soon arrived at the apartment complex, opened the door, and stepped into the apartment.

'_Did I leave the lights on this morning?'_ He wondered while looking at the illuminated fixtures. Shrugging it off, he stepped around the corner into the kitchen.

"What the hell are you doing in my home?!" Shouted a man's voice from behind the kitchen table, surprising the teen. Before Naruto could process everything, he was being chased out of the apartment and down the road, followed by the shouting man with a large kitchen knife in his hand.

"Get back here you home invader!" Naruto darted around a corner and disguised himself to blend into the fence, sighing as the man ran right by him without noticing.

'_I need to find someone to ask about what it going on here, this is nuts.'_ As he walked around Konoha, he further realized that things were altogether different, even the buildings were different. The people who usually lived in the neighboring houses weren't the same either. While thinking about it, there was the possibility of it being an elaborate prank to get back at him. Seeing as how it could be the case, he realized that there would be one person who belonged to a certain family who would be forbidden from partaking in a prank.

Naruto found himself right where he wanted to be, standing outside the Hyuuga manor. The stuck up clan would be the only place around that would be unchanged by any outside force. It didn't matter what it was, even the absolute destruction of the village didn't keep them from rebuilding it exactly the same.

"State your business." Demanded the guard who came to the door at the summons of the knock.

"I need to speak with Hinata." He mentioned with clarity since he got a rude reply once when he wasn't clear. Naruto saw the puzzled look on the guards face after he uttered those words and knew something changed.

"Where have you been? Hinata should be with the Inuzuka clan." He told him and quickly swung the door shut.

"Uh… ok thanks I guess."

This was very unusual to him. Hinata was always at the estate when not training or on a mission, why would she not be there now? Her clan always had a watchful eye on her, many times even too much, and wouldn't start now. He quickly made his way to the Inuzuka house and knocked on the door. A choir of barking dogs followed confirming that at least their house didn't change. The door cracked open and you could hear various voices and laughter coming from inside from around the form standing before him.

"Yes?" Naruto smiled when he saw the familiar dark brown hair and red streaked face of Hana, Kiba's older sister.

"Hey Hana, I was told I could find Hinata here." He looked at her and the moment a faint smile spread across her face, he knew she'd be trustworthy.

"Yeah, she's here. Let me go get her." Hana disappeared into the house, leaving him standing outside the door. Naruto waited for a couple minutes, kicking at the gravel on the side walk, until the door opened again.

Hinata stepped out of the door, still talking over her shoulder with a smile on her face and glass of water in her hand. Her hitai-ate was around her forehead instead of her neck and her hair was drastically shorter than he remembered from their talk a few hours ago but still wore her usual jacket. Just seeing her caused him to smile without realizing it.

"Your hair is shorter…" He mentioned without knowing what to say. He was still afraid that she was upset with what he told her earlier and tried to keep it simple. Her eyes went wide when she turned towards the voice and the glass fell from her hand, shattering on the ground when she saw him.

"N… Naruto-kun?"

"Well yeah, don't act so surprised, I talked to you earlier today." The surprised look on her face left him in wonder as to how she forgot already... and got a haircut.

"No…" She shook her head and started crying. The tears streaked down her face making him feel bad for saying something which obviously upset her.

"Hinata?" Naruto stepped closer and looked at her while she stared frantically wiping away her tears with her small hands. "Are you ok?" He reached out and gently touched her cheek, causing her to jerk backwards from his touch.

"Hey jackass, get away from my girl!" Shouted an enraged guy launching himself out of the front door with a fist cocked back for contact within range. With the sudden surprise, Naruto acted on instinct and with surprising speed, he grabbed the assaulting fist and flipped him onto his back.

"Bite me dog boy!" He shouted while looking down at the form of his classmate Kiba.

"Now someone tell me what the hell is going on, I am so freaking lost!" Hinata gasped at the situation and ran to Kiba.

"Kiba-kun, are you ok?" Hinata asked while kneeling down beside him and tried inspecting him for injury. For some reason, their interaction brought a glint of irritation to his blue eyes.

"Oh, I'm going to kill him!" Kiba shouted as he tried to stand.

"Bring it on; I'll kick your ass so fast…" The blonde retorted until being interrupted.

"No, Kiba-kun, let me talk to him. It's OK." She assured while trying to calm the both of them down. Kiba reluctantly agreed and stayed lying on the ground while the other two walked a little ways away from the house; although it wasn't like Kiba could really back up his threats in his current condition, hurt pride and all. Hinata followed the bright clothed guy and walked in silence until Naruto spoke.

"So what is going on? Is someone pulling a prank on me?" She stopped and had a confused look on her face when he turned towards her for an answer.

"I don't know what you're talking about Naruto-kun. No one has seen you in years; Kiba-kun didn't even recognize you." She informed. Naruto shook his head, knowing it was wrong. He tried pinching himself and it still didn't clear up his outlook.

"I don't understand. I know I just talked to you earlier, we talked about the fight where you told me… how you felt about me." He saw surprise on her face and knew instantly that this wasn't the same person he talked to earlier.

"I… I…" She stuttered while blushing. She was so surprised that the person she knew as missing for years was in front of her and knew of her old feelings.

"That was a long time ago; I'm with Kiba-kun now." She muttered, not really wanting him to hear her fully. She still held a candle for him, but forced herself to move on when there wasn't even a shred of evidence of where he went.

"This is weird…" Naruto stated while trying to rack his brain over what happened. Everything changed since he meditated and had that weird dream… Then it him; maybe it wasn't a dream and he stumbled upon a time space jutsu or something.

"Hinata, can you tell me what happened the last day of academy when we got our teams? Did I do anything unusual?" She didn't know what that had to do with anything but remembered back to the better days of her life when she was still free to dream of a perfect future.

"Umm… you did this really neat backflip, which was the only thing that was out of the ordinary." Naruto's eyes widened since Hinata just retold what he experienced in his weird memory/dream.

"I didn't get pushed into Sasuke?" he questioned

"No."

"Weird…" He was glad everyone didn't have to see that gross memory including himself not having to relive it..

"Naruto-kun… Where were you all these years?" She asked, knocking him from his thoughts.

"Actually I don't even have a clue. I just was here… I don't know what happened, but are you at least happy here?" He started to wonder that just maybe he was correct and that what he experienced wasn't really a memory but actually rewriting history. If that was the case, then as long as everyone he knew was alive and happy, he would gladly get used to the situation and live with them, his friends meant everything to him.

"Um… I'm actually pretty good considering…" Even Naruto could figure out there was something wrong as she was rubbing her forehead protector. That was when it finally clicked as to why she had it on her head and not her neck like usual.

"I can't believe they did that…" He whispered in disbelief. It doesn't take a genius to know why she'd be covering her forehead. This was just unforgiveable to him. To brand someone he felt was very important in his life like this, he just couldn't stand for it. Part of him wanted to rage on everyone, but then thought that if he did it once, maybe he could do it again.

"I'm going to try something…" Hinata looked puzzled at his words when he just closed his eyes and stopped moving.

'_I've gotta wake up properly, if this is a dream, than I need to wake up if it isn't then I need to change it.' _ Naruto attempted to get back to that room in hopes of ending his strange dream.

* * *

Drip, Drip, Drip… The scene was dark and ominous, water droplets fell from the ceiling, splashing on the cobblestoned ground, tinkling in a distinctive sound. He wasn't surrounded by the calming feeling he felt within the white room. The moment Naruto felt the water splash around his toes through his open sandals; he knew where he was and opened his eyes.

"This is so not the right room." His voice cut into the fur covered body in front of him, causing Kurama to stir from his slumber. The large fox stood up and stretched while looking around confusingly.

"**Naruto… What have you done?"** The kyuubi got a strange look from the blonde standing in front of him.

"What do you mean? I'm just having a weird dream... Right? Just tell me I'm right because I don't want it to be real."

"**No, this is no dream. You have actually changed time itself and rewrote history. I once developed a technique that would allow me to jump into my past self to change the future, but I learned that even the tiniest adjustments to the past could greatly alter the future."**

"Whoa, wait… Are you saying everything out there right now is real? So I was right that I wasn't dreaming?"

"**Indeed."**

"Well, how do I change it back?" He asked in a panic. He didn't want to leave Hinata branded like that because of something he messed around with.

"**You can't, once the technique was started, it can't be undone. Each memory you relive allows you to see the outcome of your new choice when you switch back to the present. At that point you can choose to keep those changes or attempt to change another memory as long as you have another memory to experience."**

"Can I get my world back?" He wondered, knowing that if the technique only held one time change, then it was possible.

"**Maybe, like I said before, each change you make can have drastic consequences. In chaos theory, the butterfly effect was coined to illustrate this phenomenon. Did you ever think that not 'accidentally' kissing Sasuke would result in that pervert being Hokage? Now here is why this technique is bad, each event you experience may be your last one you have no idea when the technique will end, so don't get carried away. You can either try to recreate the event exactly how it was and you'll have you real timeline back, or you can try to better your timeline. It is up to you. " **

"Well, I'd rather have ero-sennin as a Hokage than suffer through a single fanfiction story depicting that with Sasuke; gross, I want to hurl." Naruto commented while making sickening sounds. "Yeah, that's right! All you bastard Yaoi readers can go to hell! I like tits not dicks!" He shouted at what the kyuubi would refer to as an 'imaginary audience'.

"**Anyhow…" **Kurama interrupted, not really knowing what this 'fanfiction' thing was.** "Your timeline is now up to you… Good luck…" **

Naruto crossed his arms and thought to himself for a moment before realizing the truth behind the matter: _'I hate time travel; it makes my head hurt.'_

* * *

With that, Naruto felt himself falling out of meditation and back into the world where Hinata was looking at him with interest. His eyes opened and he smiled at the look on her face, she still had that adorable, curious smile which he remembered well.

"What? Something on my face?" He teased, causing her to shriek in surprise and look away while blushing.

"Y… You have grown quite h… handsome." She muttered through her embarrassment.

"Really? Thanks. You too... er I mean you're not, like, handsome like a guy, I mean it's not like I like handsome guys, or guys at all. Ahhh…" Naruto scratched his neck nervously as he made a fool out of himself in front of a snickering Hinata. "I mean you grew up pretty, or whatever." She smiled shyly and looked at the ground.

"Um… did your 'something' work?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not quite, but I did learn some things… Can you tell me everything you know about after we got our teams? Like what I did during the chuunin exam? How things ended up."

"Well, I'm not really sure; you should ask Kakashi-sensei." She told him. Her face held something in it that made Naruto realize that there was something more which she wasn't sure if she should reveal to him.

"Probably, but I wanted your view since you actually noticed me in academy and Kakashi was good at ignoring me." She let out a sigh and decided to tell him what he wanted, not like she could refuse much of what he could ask.

"Ok, well, from what I know, you went on a mission to the land of waves and came back severely injured. It turned out that there was a jonin that attacked. The mission was a complete failure and many villagers lost their lives. Despite that failure, Kakashi-sensei still put you into the chuunin exam. Then when you fought Kiba in the preliminaries, you got knocked out with a single attack. After that you disappeared, we never saw you again." I was really heartbroken to see you disappear, I never knew what happened.

"That is different than how I remember it. Wave was a success and I kicked Kiba's ass in the preliminaries and I even kicked Neji's ass in the final for hurting you." He told her with great flourish.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata started feeling embarrassed. She had always wished that he would do something like that for her and his version seemed like a much better one in her opinion.

"Don't worry about it Hinata… but if I disappeared, then that means I never brought Tsunade back to become Hokage?"

"Huh? Jiraiya became Hokage after Orochimaru killed the Sandaime. Jiraiya also eliminated Sasuke when he tried to defect."

"And Sakura?" Hinata's faint smile faded upon hearing the girl who was always a stumbling block for her in getting the blonde to notice her. She never liked the girl and suspected that she was the cause of his disappearance.

"She went with Sasuke when he left and he killed her near the valley of the end… I'm sorry." Naruto looked saddened and upset before remembering that this can change. He put a smile back on his face, helping to lighten Hinata's mood as well.

"Don't feel sorry Hinata, I will figure out how to fix this, Kurama said that I can screw around with past events now, so don't worry, I'll fix this up." He assured with a glimmer in his eye making her want to believe him, yet one thing still confused her about that.

"Who is Kurama?" Naruto laughed nervously and lay back on the soft grass.

"I guess you guys didn't learn about the Kyuubi inside me then?" She shook her head and occupied the spot next to him.

"No one told us, we just figured it out. We also guessed that was one reason why you never returned."

"Well, his name is Kurama. I'm going to try fixing things now, so I won't explain everything since I'm sure it will change. I'd like to talk with you, but I'd rather change this as fast as I can… I hope you understand." Before she could interject, he focused his mind and found himself back in the white room.

Above him floated that strange icon again, but at least this time he knew what he was getting into.

"Somehow I've got to make this pan out like I remember, or my friends will die." He declared to himself, and then touched the icon and waited for the flash of light to fade into the next moment in time.

* * *

"Ninja fighting lesson #1 Tai jutsu, let me teach you about it…"

'_Oh crap, already?'_ Naruto opened his eyes to see Kakashi pulling out his little book and started to read. _'ok, if I remember right…'_

"Im gonna beat you to a pulp!" The blonde idiot shouted and rushed after Kakashi. He started throwing slow punches and kicks, all being blocked easily by the jonin.

'_Alright, a punch, then kick… then… then.'_ Naruto lost his train of thought and soon got caught up in the fight. They started going back and forth while Naruto made clones to assist in his fight.

"Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique: A 1000 years…" Right as Kakashi was going to deliver the final blow, that particular Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, surprising the copycat ninja.

"Of PAIN!" Naruto finished as he charged from behind and rammed his pointed fingers at Kakashi. The silver haired man dropped his book and took all his ability to avoid that attack. He twisted sideways and landed on his back, skidding across the grass.

'_Fuck! This is so not right. It was funny as hell though. Oh, well, I screwed this one.'_ Naruto thought after realizing her had made a mess of his chance for recreating the even perfectly.

Sakura and Sasuke looked on in amazement at Naruto's well balanced and executed moves. There was no way that this was the same Naruto. Not even they could deny their own eyes… That thought was quickly knocked away when Kakashi spun on his back and kicked Naruto in the back of his head, knocking the consciousness from him.

* * *

"Dang… Memories hurt." Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes. When his sight focused, he realized that he was no longer in the training grounds. The sounds of dogs barking filled his ears, making him sit straight up. He was back in front of the Inuzuka House, but Hinata was gone.

"What are you doing here loser?" Naruto stood up and held the back of his head; the memory was still hurting like hell.

"I don't know what's worse, your barking, or Akamaru's." The blonde didn't even get a chance to get his bearings before a fist connected with his cheek, sending him back to the ground.

"Fuck you! Don't joke about my dead dog!"

"What's elsescrewed up in this world now?" Naruto stood back up and massaged the pain out of his jaw and started to walk away from Kiba. "Hey, where's Hinata?" He called back over his shoulder

"Your jokes aren't funny, just shut the fuck up!" Kiba called back while gritting his teeth.

"You shut the fuck up, mutt." He mumbled in reply and headed into the village. It was still night out and sleep was calling quite loudly. Naruto found a quiet park bench and decided to get some rest so he could figure out a way to cure his problems. He barely drifted off to sleep when he felt someone gently shaking his shoulder.

"Wake up, you can't be here." The gentle voice urged.

"Five more minutes Sakura-chan…" He mumbled in his sleep while rolling over on the bench.

"If I was Sakura, you'd be dead already, now move." He bolted upright and looked directly at the young woman at his side. Her hair was unruly and spiked up in places and wore silvery colored lipstick. She smiled and tugged on his orange sleeve.

"I don't know what you're doing here Naruto-kun, but you need to hide." She whispered while pulling him upright while he was still half asleep. She continued dragging him through the shadows of the village while he woke more thoroughly and was finally able to make sense of his surroundings.

"What do you mean? And what are you wearing, Hinata?" She was quite surprised when she blushed, but it faded quickly. She wore a skimpy black tube top and a sparkling silver skirt slit up both the sides to her waist.

"Talk later, run now."

Hinata ran through dark alleys with the blonde in tow until reaching a fence at the back of one alley. She activated her byakugan and scouted the area, to make sure they weren't followed. After seeing no one, she pushed Naruto through the fence, which wasn't really there, but was a genjutsu used to hide the entrance. He stumbled forward into a dark room, barely lit with a couple red lamps casting a strange glow across the walls. There was only one single chair and a large bed in the corner of the small room, barely being illuminated.

"Sit, then we can talk." She pushed him into the chair and she sat on the edge of the bed with a shy grin. Naruto looked at her attire and followed her smooth white legs up to her skirt where he decided not to look any harder.

"So what are you wearing? Isn't it a bit revealing?" He finally asked after averting his eyes from her attire.

"Of course it revealing, silly." She giggled. She stood up and twirled around before grabbing the front of the skit and quickly pulling it up, giving him a quick peek at what was under it. She started laughing loudly when he grew even more embarrassed and turned away completely.

"Enjoy the show?" She teased while sitting back on the bed.

"Well… I … it, er… Damn!" She continued giggling hysterically at his confused speech.

"I love it, Naruto-kun, you're speechless."

"Hey, don't blame me, you're the one showing your stuff off, I certainly didn't expect that from you." Hinata finally stopped laughing and looked more saddened than anything else.

"Well, a lot has changed… I had to change with the times. I would have been happy chasing you for years, to be noticed by you, but that didn't work out." Suddenly she looked up with anger in her eyes and a fierce tone in her voice said:

"Besides, you were the one who left us all here; you have **no right** to judge." Naruto was shocked at her ferocity, but she has been shocking him with everything recently.

"I don't remember what happened, but if you can tell me what led to this, I'm sure I can fix it somehow." He was thoroughly confused but knew this was not a time he wanted to be stuck in. He was going to immediately go back to the white room until the desire to help Hinata took hold of him.

"I don't think you can, but… It started with the attack by Orochimaru and Gaara of the sand. The third was killed and we were overpowered by the snake summons. Konoha fell and we are now ruled by Orochimaru. We weren't ever able to figure out where you went, but honestly, I'm glad you're ok."

"And what you're wearing?" Her lips curled up into a smirk and she started tapping her fingers like she hasn't done in years.

"I've had to take up a very revealing dancing job just to survive. Been doing it for four years now and it helped with my confidence, but a little detrimental to my self-worth." She saw his fists start to clench and the muscles in his jaw start to flex.

"Fucking snake bastard! I'll kill him!" She stood up and set her hands on his fists.

"Calm down Naruto-kun, we can't attack him; we just don't have the power anymore."

"Too bad, I'm going to kill him now." Naruto stood up, pushing her hands off of him and stomped towards the door when he was enveloped with small arms around his waist.

"Don't go! He's already killed so many." He turned around and saw the small tear drops streaking her face while looking up at him. Even in this extreme form, she was still caring and lovely.

"Why not?" He asked, trying to ignore her tears.

"Because… Because you're the last person I'd want to die."

"Hinata…" he took hold of her arms and pried them away from his body. "Trust me, I won't die. I want to take out my frustrations on that snake."

"Naruto-kun…" She reluctantly followed him out to the alley where he turned and gave her a grin which reminded her of his old self causing a rosy color to fill her cheeks.

"Hey, don't worry so much… I never go back on my promises." He smiled and held up his thumb before bursting into a bright orange flamed kyuubi cloak with the bright chakra actively rolling off his body. Hinata's eyes grew wide along with her gaping jaw.

"Besides, when I'm like this, I can't lose." In an instant Naruto disappeared as he ran towards the Hokage tower where the snake sannin was sure to be. Naruto's flaming body lit up the streets in a streak of light, ending as he landed in front of the tower.

"You have until the count of 10 to get that bastard Orochimaru out here!" Naruto shouted from outside the tower.

"1… 2… 3… 4… 5"

"Die shithead!" Shrieked an overly loud female voice. The harsh tone in her voice could really only come from one person. He looked up to see Sakura falling towards him with a cocked back fist.

"Shit!" He cursed while jumping backwards. There were a few things in life that he was scared of an 98% of those things were the fists of a particular two medic ninja. When he stepped back, he caused the kunoichi to punch the earth instead of him, he thought that it may have been too easy.

"Damn it! That hurt…" She whined while shaking her hand and looked at the ground like she wanted it to shatter.

'_Should have known… she didn't get taught by Tsunade in this time.'_ Naruto smirked; it really was going to be easier than he thought.

"Having troubles Sakura-_chan_?" He teased, just to make her loose her temper.

"Oh that's it." Sakura ran at him with a drawn kunai. He still had a grin on his face as his chakra arms grabbed her wrists. He leapt to the air and rammed both his feet into her stomach, kicking her to the side with ease. He then situated himself back in front of the tower like nothing happened.

"6… 7… 8… eh, fuck it." His chakra hand helped concentrate his elemental chakra in another chakra arm. " Futon: Rasenshuriken!" He threw the spiraling orb forward with his chakra arm, delivering a precise blow to the Hokage building. The ground shook and debris swirled throughout the air. Within a second, the Hokage mansion was enveloped in the wind sphere, disintegrating everything within its zone of effect. When the dust cleared, there stood a large gate known as rashomon looking rather ravaged.

"Let's go you ugly bastard." He shouted, not really expecting a one attack kill. From around the gate stepped out the form of Sasuke. Something looked off with him while he walked forward, licking his lips with a long tongue.

"Hmmm, Naruto-kun. We've been searching for you." Just the sound of his voice clearly advertised that he wasn't Sasuke anymore.

"Orochimaru…" Naruto took off after him, chakra arms swung and swiped at him, throwing dozen of mini rasengans in a violent flurry. Orochimaru found it easy to dodge the arms with the help of Sasuke's sharingan, but it was limited to how he thought the arms acted and was caught off guard when one changed directions and headed straight for his back. He sensed the change of attack and averted his eyes, for a fraction of a second from Naruto, which gave him the opening to move in with his speed and catch him in a full nelson.

"Game over." Naruto whispered in his ear and turned them to face a bright orange chakra formed in the shape and form of the kyuubi's head with a giant black ball in his mouth. The bijuudama launched right as he turned, quickly consuming the pair in the attack. Naruto winced before disappearing in a puff of smoke, only leaving Orochimaru/Sasuke to take on the rest of the attack. The bijuudama slammed into the Hokage monument and exploded, leveling the mountain and sending rocks flying in every direction.

"Noooo!" The now conscious Sakura screamed while seeing Sasuke get destroyed. Naruto let the flaming cloak faded from his form, along with the visage of the fox, as he walked towards the pink haired kunoichi.

She was crying while she glared at him, holding a kunai in her hand. Naruto approached cautiously but didn't expect her to jam the blade into her throat and slide it violently to the side. Blood spilled out of the wound and she slumped onto her side. The blonde quickly looked away from the gruesome scene, trying to hold back the churning of his stomach. He violently shook his head to throw the thoughts from his mind and ran back to where he left Hinata.

While running across the rooftops, Naruto spotted the small girl watching the massive fire that was raging upon the leveled monument. She shrieked and jumped when he landed next to her on the roof, surprising her.

"What did I say?" He asked with a grin.

'_This is strange though, everyone in my time were much stronger than this.'_

"Naruto-kun!" She screeched and grabbed him into a tight hug. He reluctantly put his arms around her shoulders and held her as she started to cry into his chest. She looked up and made a sudden move with her eyes closed and rapidly closed in. Her eyes popped open when she felt her lips touch the flat surface of his cheek. She let him go and turned away violently and started walking away.

"Hinata, wait." Naruto called out as he grabbed her arm and turned her back to face him. "Don't be mad, it's just… you're not _my_ Hinata."

'_Wait, since when did I decide was she mine?'_

"What do you mean Naruto-kun?" Naruto shook the thought from his mind to answer her question.

"This isn't the timeline I know and you aren't the same person that I know. You're still undeniably you, but just not the you from my time. You'll be safe here now though. I'll be going now." He sat on the roof and clasped his hands together, thinking about that white room.

"Where are you going, will I see you again?" One eye opened, looking at the scantily clad woman leaning over in front of him.

"I'm going to try and find my timeline… I'm sure we'll see each other again if you continue to look for me." He closed his eye again and was whisked away to the white room.

* * *

"When will this be over?" He asked himself while sitting in the white room with the strange icon floating above him.

"**When there are no more events to experience, but remember, the last one is for keeps."**

"Well, let's get on with it!" He reached out and touched the icon and waited as the world flashed and darkened.

* * *

"Yahoo, found you!" Shouted the undeniably brash voice of Kiba Inuzuka. "Well, well, everyone is assembled." Naruto's eyes opened. He looked at his hands and got used to the feeling of moving them, then looked around the room.

"H… Hello." Squeaked a quiet and tiny voice from his side.

"Hi Hinata." Naruto greeted without any thought while flashing his usual smile, causing her to turn bright red.

'_She turns redder when she was younger… wait, This is the chuunin exams… I don't think I talked to her like this, shit, I already screwed it up.'_

"I see all 9 of this year's rookie genin are taking the exam… I wonder how far we'll get, Eh Sasuke-kun?" Kiba teased baring his fangs through his grin.

"You sure seem confident Kiba." Sasuke retorted.

"He, he." He grinned. "We did a lot of training, we won't lose to you."

"SHUT UP! Sasuke might, but I won't lose to the likes of you." Naruto shouted, hoping that he remembered something close to what he said in the previous timeline to preserve as much as possible.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun didn't mean it in that way." Hinata mumbled in an apology.

"Don't apologize for dog breath…" Naruto hurriedly covered his mouth; he knew that he messed up once again.

'_Why can't I just ignore her when she talks to me?'_

"You guys are rookies out of the academy, right? This isn't a picnic you know." Interrupted an unknown silver haired guy who just joined the group. It was hard for the blonde to not just crack that guy in the face the moment he saw his traitorous ass.

"Who the hell are you? Sasuke asked.

"I'm Kabuto… Look behind you." The group turned and saw the whole room was looking at them, all looking very pissed and itching for a fight. Seeing all there irritating faces took over Naruto's common sense, like always.

"Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm not going to lose to you jack assess!" He thought for a few moments and realized that he increased the speed of their conversation from the previous timeline, but figured it was much too late, there was sure to be a cascading change of events from his previous blunders. He basically was now going to have to switch to damage control and maybe have a little fun with it.

"Thanks for waiting." Greeted a large scarred man who appeared in a cloud of smoke with a group of others.

"I am Morino Ibiki. As a reminder, there will be no fighting without permission and even in the event that permission is granted, there will be absolutely no killing. Those who disobey will fail immediately, do I make myself clear? Now sit down and I'll hand out the test."

"What a written test!" The blonde shouted, keeping to his memory the best he could.

"Naruto-kun…"

"Oh, Hi Hinata." He greeted with a grin.

"Let's… do our best…"

"Sure thing Hinata, I always do my best when I'm with you." Ibiki handed out the test and went through the rules. Once the test started, they all flipped over their tests and started to read.

'_Ha, ha, these questions are still impossible even after all these years. Well, I know I'll just have to wait until the end.'_ He acted frustrated at the test while already knowing the outcome.

"Naruto-kun, you can look at my answers." Hinata whispered from next to him. He smiled as he remembered her kind act, she just always seemed to try and help when he needed it most.

"Hey Hinata, why would you try to do that?" He whispered back.

"Because… I… I…" She started fiddling with her fingers nervously "I don't want you to disappear here."

She slid the paper closer for him to see her answers.

"That's ok Hinata, because an incredible ninja like me doesn't need to cheat." He grinned widely while pushing the paper back, accidently brushing across the top of her hand. She yanked it back like her hand was on fire and turned completely red.

'_Looking back now, I finally know why she acted so weird around me. That shyness is something unique to only her.'_

Naruto sat and waited while the participants were eliminated one by one. Quite a bit of time passed until Ibiki stood up in front of the room and announced the rules for the 10th question.

"You can choose to take the 10th question, but if you get it wrong, you fail… And if you fail, you can never take the chuunin exam again. I'll leave you one opening though; you can quit now and still have a chance to become chuunin later."

Naruto waited, this time it seemed to be even more difficult. He knew Sakura was going to try and quit, so he had to time his next move carefully so it happen as close to his memory as possible. A few more people dropped out and he started to feel the pressure. Remembering the same level of pressure from before, he finally raised his hand before slamming it hard on the table.

"Don't underestimate me, I will not run! I'll take your stupid question even if I'm a genin forever! I will become Hokage anyways, so I don't care! I'm not afraid!"

"Right, Naruto-kun." Hinata said clearly out of happiness. Naruto looked at her with a surprised look; he knew she never said anything that loudly and full of conviction at that point in the chuunin exams.

"To the 78 who remain; congratulations on passing the first test!" Announced Ibiki, surprising all but one participant. He sat silently while Ibiki explained the points of the test, nodding every so often as he verbally agrees with what he was saying , making the small girl beside him giggle. Naruto looked at her laughing face and smiled right at her. For some reason, he started liking the sound of her laughter from years ago. There were very few times when she would actually laugh according to his memory. Shaking the thoughts of the young Hyuuga out of his mind, he concentrated back on Ibiki. After Ibiki finally finished his explanations, Naruto sat with a smirk on his face, knowing what would come next.

'_Cue Mitarashi Anko in 3… 2… 1…'_

Anko came crashing through the a nearby window window, sending pieces of wood flying in every direction. Everyone was surprised at her entrance, none more so than Naruto since it was the wrong window. She landed with an evil smirk on the table he was sitting at. She looked down and saw the blonde was out cold with a reddened area of skin on his cheek from getting smacked by one of her feet while she was spinning in the air.

"Oops…" She muttered, with the smirk still on her face.

* * *

Naruto exercised his jaw while opening his eyes. The memory of getting kicked in the side of the face was still lingering in his mind. Light was just peeking through the thick coverings on a window next to the bed he was in when he realized that he had no Idea where he was. The building was completely foreign. The bed was soft and the blankets were warm and cozy. Even warmer was the heat coming off of the weight on his right arm.

Turning to his right he saw the back of someone with almost black hair lying next to him. The long calming breaths she was taking were obvious signs that the she was still sleeping. The smooth flawless features of her exposed neck extended to the top of a small, exposed shoulder. He carefully and slowly slid his arm out from underneath her small body, freeing himself from his captor.

Upon sliding out of bed, he soon realized that he needed to find clothes really quickly, even an ounce worth would be more than he had on. After throwing on some clothes that looked like they would be his, he started looking around the room.

It was a small living area, large bed at one end and a living room/ kitchen area on the other with a tiny bathroom tucked in the corner next to the bedroom. The exposed wood on the walls gave it that rustic feeling you get from a cabin in the woods. The strange part of the building was just that unknown feeling he had; it felt like he belonged there, like it was home.

Opening the front door, the fresh wooded breeze enveloped him while the sunlight glittered across his cerulean eyes, causing him to squint in the sudden onslaught. He stepped out onto the wooden deck and looked out past the young forest and could see the faint structure of a mountain range disappearing into the morning fog. Wind rustled the leaves in a nearby tree urging Naruto to close his eyes and just enjoy the senses nature was expressing. He tensed suddenly when a pair of small arms wrapped around his torso and felt the pressure against his back from the girl leaning on him.

"Good morning Naruto-kun." Cooed a sleepy, gentle voice from behind him. Just the sound of her voice made an uncontrollable smile spread across his whisker scarred cheeks.

"Good morning." He replied as he placed his hands on the tiny arms around him. Just the way she talked and greeted him was enough to know just who it was.

"What would you like for breakfast?" She asked while gaining a more alert mental state. "Food, or me?" Naruto immediately snickered which soon led to full out laughter. The concept was so foreign to him that it just came off as unbelievably funny. He felt the little arms retreat from around him, making him realize that it wasn't the best action to laugh at her tempting offer. He turned around and saw her saddened face, strengthening that previous thought.

"I'm sorry Hinata. Your offer is tempting, but it just struck me as a funny right now." She looked up at him with an obviously fake pout.

"Fine, laugh… See if you get 'any' today." The young woman than defiantly turned around and walked back into the cabin.

'_I don't think this timeline is too bad. I could get used to this.'_ Naruto continued looking out as far as possible through the foliage in an attempt to figure out where exactly he was. Many minutes passed as he searched the horizon for just a fragment of a landmark to go off of. Soon, he was joined by a friendly Hyuuga face offering him a plate.

"Smells good Hinata." He complimented before sitting on the bench which was next to the door. She smiled and sat right next to him while they quietly ate. When they were finished, she collected the dishes and headed back into the cabin. She returned with a couple cups of a steaming hot beverage to relax with.

"Hey Hinata…" He started while grabbing the cup held out to him. "Can you tell me what led to us being here? Uh, it isn't like I don't know or anything, it is just that I'd like to hear your recollection of events." She sat down and leaned her head on his shoulder and made herself comfortable.

"It basically started at the chuunin exams. You got kicked in the head by Anko-sensei and fell into my lap. I was so embarrassed that I fainted and then apparently we had a few jokes played on us while we were both out… we had our hands tied together and no one would let us loose until the start of the forest of death. I was so embarrassed, but it helped me get used to being around you, so I didn't mind too much." She adjusted her head on his shoulder and continued her tale.

"Then you made me so happy when you cheered for me during the preliminary matches. After that we did a few missions together and then I was so sad when you left with Jiraiya-sama. It was only a year into your training trip when I decided to chase after you without permission from the Hokage. We spent the next three years together traveling the world eventually becoming a couple, but unfortunately when we tried to come back, they wouldn't allow me to return. You, of course, objected, and made a big deal out of it which led us to live out here when you couldn't have your way."

"I don't know what you saw in me back then." She giggled at his comment and pulled his arm around her shoulder.

"You always say that. Although if you stayed shorter than me, I'm pretty sure our relationship would have fallen apart." Naruto looked down at her and saw such a happy face, giggling and smiling at him.

"You think you're so funny…" He gave her shoulder a little squeeze and looked out onto the peaceful forest.

'_This has to be the best feeling in the world'_ he thought. While sitting in the peaceful forest, he decided that there was just no point in changing from this timeline; it happened to be better than the original.

"What do you think everyone is doing back in Konoha?" Naruto finally asked after many long minutes of cuddling with the girl next to him. His sudden question caused her smile to fade, while he looked down at her, and she looked depressed.

"You forgot again didn't you?" She asked while a tear ran down her face. "I should have known from the other question…" She placed one hand on each of his whiskered cheeks and looked him in the eye seriously.

"Konoha is gone… Sasuke destroyed it." She saw the mixture of sadness and ager roll across his face like the times before when she had to remind him since he seemed to want to forget, and was quite good at it.

"Sasuke…" He growled with eyes flickering red.

"Naruto… You already killed him, it's just us now." She closed in on him and kissed his forehead before pulling him into a hug. Naruto loved these feelings, but the thought of all of his other friends not being able to enjoy his happines with him was getting to be too much.

"I'm sorry Hinata, I really like being here with you, but I can't stay." She looked at him questioningly while he closed his eyes and pushed himself back into the small white room.

* * *

"You know what? Fuck this! I'll just change everything to the way I want it. Who cares anymore!?" He just angrily grabbed the icon and threw it at the ground. The blank expanse of the room quickly faded to black.

* * *

"My body won't move…" Naruto groaned while opening his eyes. Trying to figure out where he was, he looked around the sparse landscape and saw two small toads hiding behinds some rocks.

"Gamatatsu…" He muttered while struggling to get to his feet.

'_So I'm here this time.'_ The blonde looked around and finally saw Tsunade sitting on the ground while shaking. Kabuto was running forward ready to strike her down and Naruto knew exactly what was coming. '_It's now or never!'_ He jumped to his feet and made it just in time to block the silver haired man's punch with the plate of his forehead protector, stopping him in his tracks.

"I'll end you right here and now!" Naruto held out his hand, within seconds a ball of swirling blue chakra formed in his hand. "Take this!" He leapt towards Kabuto, swinging his hand forward only to be easily dodged by the higher skilled ninja.

"You can't hit me with that." Kabuto teased while turning to his fallen opponent.

"Think again fuckbag." Sounded Naruto's voice from behind the sound ninja spy. "Rasengan!" The brilliant blue orb effortlessly twisted through Kabuto's spine, instantly killing the signals to his organs. The orange clad ninja fell to his knees as the previous one puffed away. He breathed heavily as he watched the man that made a mess of the last ninja war turn into a corpse before his eyes; it was a very satisfying sight.

"Hey Baa-chan!" He called out while falling forward on the edge of consciousness. "I think this body has had it."

* * *

Naruto felt himself back in his usual body. He was aching all over from the memory bleed through and remained motionless to recuperate his senses. It was all but a few long seconds that he spent in that memory, but it hurt worse than the others.

"Naruto… Naruto… WAKE UP!"

"Come on Sakura-chan, I'm not feeling well." He whined, knowing her distinct voice.

"Chan my ass, now get up, we found the rest of them." Naruto rolled to his feet and groggily stood while opening his eyes. It was late morning and the sun was heating up quickly. He looked out and saw they were standing at the edge of a series of large craters.

"Sakura, what am I looking at?"

"Quit fucking around Naruto. You're the one who had the whole village out looking for them, don't go pussing out now." He was confused but decided to follow his pink haired teammate. They arrived in a flat area between two large craters lined with rows of white blankets covering various bodies. His usually sparkling eyes grew dim and widened at the view. Hundreds of bodies lay out before him. He had no clue as to what was going on or the cause of this disaster.

"Sakura…"

"It's over here." She replied dryly and led him to a defined area. "Are you sure Naruto? Her body is really bad."

"Her? Did you confirm her identity?" He asked.

"Yes, we have confirmed the bodies of both TenTen and Hinata; we are working on identifying others." His throat felt like it swelled to twice its size and he could hardly manage to swallow.

"I don't… Why Hinata?" He finally managed to get out.

"We've been over this a thousand times, Pain was encountered on his way to Konoha and while the village survived, we lost over half of our ninja forces. Hinata held them off until you could arrive and defeat him. You kicked his ass, but our forces were very low from his attack. A month later Sasuke killed even more in a follow up attack, including Hinata. We had nothing left to fight with and she protected you till her last breath."

"Hinata's really gone?" Naruto fell on his back side and only had one thought, without he, there was really no point. The white room appeared on command and through his blurred vision, he punched the icon, sending it toppling from his sight. There without even a fragment of a thought about staying there. He decided since everything seemed to be opposite what he wanted that he'd run the next memory with an opposite personality. This time he was actually looking forward to the next world as the light faded away.

"Naruto, I beg you! Please… Please bring back Sasuke!" Cried the voice of Sakura. Naruto remembered that as the day Sasuke left, ruining all their dreams and it was just pissing him off.

"You know what? Fuck you and your retarded love for that piece of shit. He can die for all I care!" He shouted while telegraphing it with a pair of middle fingers directed towards the annoying girl.

Thwap! Thud! – He was out cold.

* * *

(Next Chapter)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chaotic Dynamics: Chapter 2**

* * *

Naruto shielded his eyes from the bright sun shining directly overhead. He started chuckling, leading to full out laughter while remembering the last memory.

"10 seconds, new world record!" He shouted while still lying on the ground laughing up a storm. "Damn that felt so good." He laughed while remembering telling off Sakura.

He didn't know why he was so pissed at Sasuke from a different reality that he had to rip into his good friend like that, but he felt a large weight lift from him, bringing up his spirits along with it, although he could have done without the hard fists of the pink haired kunoichi. He then noticed that he was sitting on concrete and didn't quite know where he was. He attempted to stand up and much too easily lost his balance and started falling forward.

"You moron!" Sakura shouted while running out from nowhere and catching him before falling to the ground. "How many times have I told you not to try standing up without your crutches!?"

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me dummy." She angrily shoved a set of crutches into his hands. Wondering what they were for, he finally noticed that there was no feeling in his left foot. Looking down he then realized that most of his leg was missing, greatly surprising him.

'_What the Fuck?' _He awkwardly hobbled a bit on the crutches until he figured out the correct motions to move relatively freely.

"Now go home, I'll be off in about 15 minutes; see you then." She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek before running off through the nearby door.

"What the hell?" He asked the air around him while rubbing his cheek. Looking around again, he noticed he was atop the roof of the Hospital. The village below was like it was before the Pain destruction, so it was likely it was never destroyed in this timeline. He hobbled down the stairs from the roof and out the front of the hospital without really knowing where 'home' was. It wasn't all that important to him to figure everything out since it was only temporary before it changed again. There was no way he'd stay in a place with a missing leg. With this information, he decided to check out the changes in this village and blow off some steam.

As he moved along he started noticing glares and hushed comments while making his way through the streets. It was quite unnerving to him as he remembered the same thing when he was younger. He was hoping it was just about the missing leg, but even then he didn't like their actions. Just as he passed a burly looking villager, he felt one of his crutches suddenly fall out from underneath him, causing him to land face first.

"Watch where you're falling demon scum." Taunted the man with a smirk. Naruto turned to the man, returning the smirk until his eyes turned red and fangs jutted out from his lips.

"Wanna try again motherfucker?" He roared out is a frightening voice, causing the villagers to panic.

"It's loose, it finally loose!"

"We're all going to die! The Kyuubi is here!"

"Some help us." The villagers scampered in various directions, arms flailing, voices screaming. The jinchurki threw back his head and laughed manically while hobbling back down the street.

"Serves them right…" he chuckled while turning a corner where there were a group of 5 masked ninja standing in his path. "Really?" He asked in disbelief while staring at them.

"Uzumaki Naruto; for revealing the Kyuubi within the walls of Konoha, you are hereby placed under arrest to await trial." Spoke the lead Anbu.

"Am I getting punked? Because you guys can go fuck yourselves." The blonde turned around and started hobbling in the opposite direction when he was grabbed by one of the Anbu.

"You _will_ be coming with us." The ninja ensured.

"I will still kick your ass with one leg." Naruto promised while smacking the Anbu's hand away with the crutch. With a motion of his hand the other four started their attack. He was having difficulty fending off their attacks while keeping his balance with the crutches.

"Jūho Sōshiken!" Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw a familiar body come flying onto the battle. Four of the five Anbu were sent flying backwards as the bright blue chakra short circuited their bodies. The fifth was dispatched with a crutch to the stomach resulting in that particular one rolling on the ground.

"Thanks Hinata, that helped a lot." He started hobbling towards her when she started talking with her back to him so he couldn't see her conflicting emotions on her face.

"Please don't thank me, I know it wasn't your fault, but it was still you who killed most of our friends two years ago when the kyuubi rampaged. If you were anyone else, I'd kill you myself but my heart would allow it. No matter the case, I still can't let you get hurt. So, please, just go."

"Hinata?" He reached out to touch her when she slapped his hand away. In that moment he saw a pained look on her face and a trail of wetness down her cheeks originating from her eyes. His heart sank; he had never really seen her so saddened and heart broken, except maybe for the moment he told her he didn't have an answer for her confession, which was now weighing on his already conflicted heart.

"GO NARUTO!"

'_This is really starting to piss me off; I just want to go home.'_ He thought before appearing within the white room again.

* * *

He never really got to figure out why he was missing a leg in that time, but logic dictates that it was done on purpose to prevent him from being a ninja. Even though he could reason that, he still didn't know what the deal with Sakura was, but he decided that he didn't care and wanted to move on. He reached out and activated the next moment in time.

* * *

He opened his eyes and immediately a frown spread across his face. He was standing in a sunken portion of earth looking up at the ludicrously dressed Sasuke. Sakura and Sai were to his right and Yamato was to his left; all were eyeing the renegade Uchiha. Naruto gritted his teeth; there were few moments in his life when he was angrier with himself than this.

"I chose to spare your life at nothing more than a whim of mine." In a swift movement, the dark haired shinobi appeared in front of Naruto, placing his hand on his shoulder. The leaf ninja were surprised at the quickness of his movements and had troubles trying to figure what to do next since Sasuke was on a whole different level.

"Come to think of it…" Sasuke started while reaching behind him to the hilt of his sword. "Isn't becoming Hokage one of your dreams? If you have the time to chase me around, wouldn't have been better to use that time and train. That's why this time you are going to lose your life all at another whim of mine." Sasuke drew his blade fully from its sheath, slowly turning it to face Naruto.

"Like I could ever become Hokage if I can't even save a friend." Sasuke's blade started launching forward towards the blonde's side. In a moment of agility, Sai took hold of Sasuke's wrist, stopping the sword attack.

"You choice of Defense… Quite correct." Sasuke assured the pale faced ninja.

"Sai…" Naruto whispered. "You, with Sakura and Yamato, distract him for 30 seconds. I'm taking him back this time." Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and flipped over it to gain leverage to reduce his movement, allowing Sai the chance to jump back to Sakura. Yamato attacked just as Sasuke's body shrieked and crackled with chakra. The blonde ninja cringed while he waited for his perfect chance.

"Chidori Nagashi." Naruto flew to the ground at the mercy of the lightning based attack, landing flat on his face and remained motionless. Sakura ran at Sasuke but was stopped for a moment by Sai.

"Sakura-san, Naruto-kun has a plan. We need to buy him about 30 seconds." She nodded in understanding and ran after Sasuke again. He lifted up his sword while activating the Sharingan, drawing the attention of the jonin Yamato. He jumped in front of Sakura, guarding against the sword with a kunai, only to be surprised when the chakra infused blade sliced through the throwing weapon.

"Your choice of defense… was a mistake" Sasuke taunted while jamming the sword forward into the jonin's shoulder.

"Yamato-sensei!" Sakura shouted while running ahead, cocking back her chakra filled fist.

Right as she moved to punch Sasuke, the Uchiha turned to her with a smirk. Dislodging the sword from Yamato's arm, he slashed it towards Sakura in an attempt to strike her down. The pink haired girl noticed that his movement was just a fraction faster than her reaction time and knew at that moment that she wouldn't be able to block the attack, nor avoid it. She glanced to her right to see the sword effortlessly pass through one of Sai's ink animals, not even slowing the blade down. She felt pressure on her right side where the blade was headed. Glancing down she saw a black sleeve and a hand wrapped around the blade, keeping the edge from cutting into her. Looking up, she noticed the orange hue of his eyelids and the strange horizontal slit of his pupils.

"Naruto?" Sakura was extremely surprised, but that was nothing compared to the look from Sasuke's disposition.

"How?" He asked as he tried pulling back his sword. "Kusanagi cannot be guarded against."

"How, you ask? Looks like it is time for you to go back to academy…" Naruto held the blade tightly with his left hand and slammed his right palm onto the Habaki. With a ferocious yell, he cleanly sliced through the blade with wind chakra. He held the broken blade up in the air and then tossed it to the side like a piece of junk.

"If you thought I just sat around like a kid, then you're full of it. You're not even a challenge without Susanoo." Sasuke was taken aback at the jab to a rarely known Uchiha technique. The fact that he knew of the technique was as much of a mystery as the technique he was now seeing Naruto enveloped in.

"Sasuke-kun, it is time to go." Ordered the new arrival of Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"I'm not done here yet." Sasuke retorted, throwing the hilt of his blade in their direction

"Damn straight you snake bastard." Naruto glanced at Sasuke and smirked. "Give me a minute to get rid of our distraction." Naruto held up his signature sign resulting in the appearance of multiple shadow clones, all with a rasengan in hand. They all jumped to the air in the direction of Orochimaru. The snake sannin and his loyal subject prepared for the attack when even they were surprised as the rasengans started growing in size past the limits of single person's entire chakra reserves.

"Senpō: Chō Ōdama Rasen Tarengan" The massive barrage started pummeling the unsuspecting twosome. Orochimaru grabbed Kabuto with a snake summoned from his sleeve and pulled the medic nin into the path of the attacks as a shield. With each blast Kabuto screamed as his body was mangled, bit by bit, despite him focusing all his chakra to repair it. Right as the last one hit, Orochimaru tossed the remainder of Kabuto's carcass to the side while the dust was starting to slow down in an attempt to settle.

"Senpō: Chō Ōdama Rasengan!" The swirling dust moved out of the path of the new chakra ball while it made perfect contact with the sannin's body, ripping at the aged man's hijacked body. Orochimaru was having difficulty holding back the giant ball, despite throwing everything he had at it when he notice a screeching whistling noise coming from behind him.

"Fūton: Rasenshuriken." Orochimaru had no choice but to let the attack hit him and hope for the best. Had he moved a single inch the Odama Rasengan would have shredded him. Unfortunately for him, the second attack was beyond any s class ninjutsu he had ever experienced. The spiraling chakra tails expanded and soon enveloped Orochimaru's entire body. Once the sphere dissipated, there was a large crater in the ground and falling pieces of the sannin.

"If only I had control of Kyuubi at this time, this would be even more of a cinch." Naruto stretched out his arms and cracked his neck to loosen up his limbs.

"Alright, let's get to the main event." He announced while walking towards where Sasuke was standing, still a bit in awe. He saw everything with his Sharingan, but unlike normal jutsu, all of those attacks were out of his reach; he didn't even have half of the chakra needed for even one of the attacks.

"Just what… What are you?" Sasuke asked

"Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage!" Sasuke scoffed and shook his head.

"You'll never change."

"So are you going to fight, or just stand there?" Sasuke smirked, then looked to all four members while they prepared for battle. He knew Naruto was going to be a major handful, but add Sakura, Sai and Yamato, his chances changed from slim to none. Even worse was that there wasn't going to be any backup coming for him, we was alone.

"You see Sasuke, you tried running to Orochimaru because you thought he'd help you destroy Itachi when what you should have been doing all along is train with your team so you can defeat him and still remain human. As you are now you'll never be able to restore the Uchiha clan like you wanted. Come back with us." Naruto's Speech fell on deaf ears as he knew it would, but he had to try.

"You're still a loser." Sasuke held his arm out, focusing on creating the chidori. He was soon shrouded in a billow of smoke from a group of disguised clones and felt hands and wood from the forgotten jonin encircling his wrists. Before he could react, Sakura smacked him on the back of his neck, knocking him out completely.

"Promise completed Naruto." Sakura mentioned while smiling. She looked down at Sasuke and grinned even wider "We did it; Hell Yeah!" She then grabbed Naruto in a large bear hug.

"Sakura… chan… can't… breathe… er… …" She looked down and saw a non-sage mode Naruto being crushed to unconsciousness in her chakra infused grip. His body flopped around lifelessly, causing her to stop.

"Oops, sorry." She apologized to this unconscious body while she dropped him unceremoniously on the ground.

* * *

"What a time for my senjutsu to wear off." Naruto thought when he gained consciousness in what should be the present time and got to his feet to look around.

He knew he was indeed back in his present time as he could feel the kyuubi's chakra freely moving inside him from when he took control of its chakra. To his sudden horror, he noticed the village set out in front of him was desolate. Even the buildings looked like they had been neglected and were unkempt. Ivy and vines had crawled up the buildings and even managed to grow across the hokage monument, hiding most of the faces.

"This may be the strangest reality yet." He commented while jumping from the roof to the street below. The whole village had an eerie feeling, the air was stagnant, and there weren't any sounds of birds chirping or animal movement of any kind. He already knew that this existence wasn't for him either, but his curiosity got the best of him and he wanted to explore since it wasn't often that you got to explore an alternate Konoha..

"At a time like this, I could handle having the byakugan." That comment brought his thoughts towards the vision of Hinata crying as he walked away from her, after she expressed her desire to act on her earlier confession. The memory quickly jumped to the back of his mind when he heard a rustling movement behind him. He quickly pulled a kunai from his pouch and held it defensively in front of his chest.

"Is someone there?" He called out. Cautiously looking around, he couldn't detect any more movement or presence in the area. Stowing away his blade he ventured further into the city. Remembering most of the landmarks, he made his way to his favorite part of town.

"Hey old man!" He shouted while stepping into the small shop. It wasn't surprising when there was no answer. The shop was abandoned, dishes and pots where smashed and strewn about like the shop was rummaged through. Feeling a little depressed, he continued on to the Hokage tower in hopes of finding something that explained what happened in a file or the like. As he started nearing the tower, he felt someone following him again. Trying to glance over his shoulder, he still couldn't find the source of his unrest.

"This place is really creeping me out." The Hokage residence was finally coming into view, thanks to the massive size of the primary building. As he got closer, he noticed smoke was rising up from the structure. He hastened his steps and hurried to the Hokage tower. As he approached, he noticed the large wooden gates were closed and were littered with gashes and stuck shuriken and kunai embedded in the surface.

"Oi, anyone there?" Naruto shouted. Instantly three trained ninja jumped around him, two grabbing his arms and the third landing in front with a katana drawn.

"What the hell is this?" The blonde demanded.

"We're the ones asking questions." Ordered the ninja in front. "Who are you?"

"Hmmm, you can call me 'Super Ramen Man'!" He chuckled out, unable to keep a straight face.

"A wise ass, eh…" The man brought the blade closer to Naruto's neck in emphasis of his seriousness. "Who do you work for?"

"Stu…"

"Stu? Who is that?"

"You know… Stu… Stu Pididiot."

"Fuck you! Throw him in with the black widow." The two started dragging Naruto inside the gates. His joking demeanor quickly faded at the foreboding name they used.

"Oi… Hey! Where are you taking me; who is this black widow?"

"Don't worry about that. She has killed every one who has touched her, no matter their strength… Good luck." The two laughed as they tossed the blonde downward into a deep cavern hollowed out beneath the ground. He landed at the bottom with a thud.

"Man that hurts." He stood up, rubbing his back side from the fall when he heard raspy breathing slowly moving closer; the closer it moved the scarier it became. It was much too dark in the cavern to see the source of the breathing, and the smell of that cavewas too horrible to think straight. He started to hear quickening footsteps increasingly getting faster until it was an all-out run.

"Hey, hold on, wait…" Still without the ability to see, he couldn't dodge the oncoming strike to his chest. He fell on his back, coughing and writing in pain. He tried gasping for breath while his assailant started going through his pouches. He felt the rummaging and got a firm hold on their wrist. With a sudden blast of kyuubi chakra, he sucked in a large amount of air and continued coughing until his breathing stabilized.

"I'm saved." He gasped while still breathing deeply. He felt the wrist in his hand start wiggling to get free. "Hey, why did you attack me?" He asked while tightening his grip on the small wrist.

"Hungry." Spoke a small and shaky voice.

"Well next time say something, don't just attack." He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small bag of beef jerky and placed a piece in the small hand. "Now when I let go, don't attack me ok?"

"Kay." This time it was quite clear that it was a female's voice which corresponds with what the ninja above were saying. He slowly released her wrist and the moment he did, it was gone in a flash. He was then surprised as he felt someone sit down next to him and started leaning on him.

"More, Naruto-kun." He jumped when his name was called out and was quite confused. He couldn't place the raspy voice which bothered him even more.

"How do you know who I am?" He asked

"You still have that phrase that comes out when you talk, and I just looked you with my byakugan."

"Hinata?" It caught him off guard. He never really thought that she'd be there, but it was starting to become more obvious that she was almost everywhere he went in the recent course of events. He gave the whole package of food to her followed by a strange happy squeak as she rummaged in the bag.

"What happened here?"

"Sasuke." She muttered through muffled sounds of her moth being full. "He led practically the entire village to attack Itachi. I don't know how, but everyone followed him. It was almost like they were hypnotized. Only my clan was unaffected. After all the ninja didn't come back for three months the villagers and the rest of my clan left to live in other towns since the money dried up."

"If they all left, how did you end up here?"

"I stayed."

"Why?" He didn't understand why someone would let their family go and opt to live on their own; he had always wanted the opposite.

"I was waiting for… someone."

"Why?"

"Because… I knew you'd come back." Naruto just shook his head and soon found the white walls appearing around him. He was actually happy to see the room and activated the icon above him. He realized he didn't really like the depressing feeling he got in that last existence.

* * *

"This next one… I'm sure of it." He spoke out loud in an attempt to convince himself that he'd find a good reality to return to.

* * *

Despite his hope for a good outcome this next time around; that idea faded fast when his body was filled with a horrendous pain. He felt a sharp sting jolt up his body when he attempted to move again and knew it wasn't some after effect. He knew this was not a good sign. Reluctantly he opened his eyes right as he saw Hinata land in front of him.

"Not this one, anything but this." He mumbled to himself as he remembered the event clearly.

"Hinata! Go away! You can't handle him!" He shouted loudly to her. This was something he never wanted to relive again.

"I know… I'm just being selfish." She replied. Everything was happening just like before, but there had to be something that he could do. He watched and cringed as she continually took the hits from Pain's attacks. When she landed next to him and attacked the rods sticking from his body, he decided it was now or never.

"Hinata! If you don't go now I'll… I'll hate you forever!" After he said that, the young Hyuuga just looked at him with a calming smile.

"That's fine… I'll still protect you because I'll love you forever." Her body flung into the air from Pain's jutsu.

"HINATA!" He tried to reach out to her but still couldn't move from the poles in his body. She landed with a horrible thud and there was nothing he could do to stop Pain's attack from piercing through her body. He couldn't believe that he was forced to watch the event a second time, but at least he knew that she'd eventually be fine. He remained in control of his body, not giving into anger because of his knowledge of the events. Unfortunately, this event changed. The blonde's eyes widened when he saw Pain throw back another arm with a second pole in hand.

"NO!" He begged while she was skewered with five more poles through the chest. That was impossible to live through and his rage finally pushed him over the edge and he blacked out when the kyuubi took over.

* * *

He opened his eyes in the present time and already had troubles seeing with blurry vision. He glanced to his right and realized he was standing in the cemetery with the Ninja memorial off to the distance in front of him. He looked down at the bundle of small white flowers he held in his hand, then to the stone at his feet and read the writing:

_Hyyuga Hinata_

_We'll love you forever_

He choked back his tears from the strange loss he felt. This whole series of events were wearing on him and he just concentrated on trying to push them all away.

* * *

Naruto sat in the white room once more, blinking in surprise at how quickly it appeared. He patiently waited for the icon to appear, but there was nothing; the room remained blank. He concentrated, trying to force the world to bend to his will. He was frantic and desperate to change the last outcome, it couldn't end like that. When he opened his eyes, he saw the dark room where Kurama lived and the tall red bars of his cage.

"Why can't I go back?" He asked the giant fox in a panic.

"**Because it is done, there are no more memories to experience."**

"But I can't leave things like this. I have to go back!"

"**I told you it would end this way, why do you need to go back?"**

"Because I need my friends, I can't have them dying. And I need…"

"**Naruto… you are still a moron." **Kurama interrupted.

"What do you know you stupid fox?"

"**You didn't do all this for your friends; you did everything for just one of them. The one that was most important to you."**

"Yeah? And which one was that?"

"**That is why you are still a moron…" **Kurama saw the look on the blonde's face and shook his large head. **"Get out of here and see what I'm talking about."**

Naruto left his inner consciousness and found himself sitting atop a large tree branch. There wasn't even a cemetery in sight. He looked out at the sky and noticed the sun still had an hour or so before setting. Wondering what was going on, he jumped down and started walking towards the gates of Konoha that he saw rising above the trees.

'_Something feels different'_ He thought while stepping through the gates. The road looked strange only in the fact that it was too perfect. The buildings were exactly where they were supposed to be, even the Hokage Monument was correct. It seemed weird because it was the same, perfectly the same. All the past realities he experienced had something off with it. He couldn't understand it while he walked by a training ground and saw a young girl in the distance. Instinctively he walked towards her while her features became more prominent. Long dark hair and pale complexion told him exactly who it was. Tears were still silently falling from her face when she looked up at him when he got near.

"Naruto-kun…" She wiped frantically at her cheeks and tried to smile at him.

"Hinata…" He then noticed that this was exactly how he left her in his original timeline.

'_Kurama, what is this?'_ Naruto heard laughing from the great fox within, further confusing him.

"**You could never figure out your feelings, so I took the liberty of helping you. There was no time travel, no alternate universe, it all happened within a single second. I set up all the scenarios to show you what your subconscious was trying to tell you all along."**

'_Which was?'_

"**Listen to your feelings you dolt, open your eyes to what is before you, literally. What did you feel at that cabin with that girl, what have you always desired? Who can give you those? Who was the only person you thought about while experiencing your past and the altered present? I made those realities show you who you desired to see most."**

'_You mean Hinata?' _He thought back to all the past events he experienced and even the alternate outcomes and it started to dawn on him._ 'I… I… I think I get it now…'_

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked while waving a hand in front of his face.

"Oh, sorry" He replied while nervously smiling. "Uh… would you like to get some ramen with me?" Her face lit up with a bright smile, reminding him of all those smiles he witnessed in alternate existences.

"Sure." She didn't know what to think about the sudden offer, but had always dreamed of spending more time with him. It cheered her up immensely from the sorrow she had earlier.

* * *

Silence followed them through the streets of Konoha until they reached Ichiraku's Ramen. Naruto reached out and pulled back the flap allowing Hinata to duck in first with him following.

"Welcome, welcome…" Greeted the ever cheery voice of the shop owner, Teuchi.

"Hey old man!" Naruto greeted like usual with a large grin, very happy to see him just like he remembered. Hinata just smiled and bowed her head in greeting before taking the set next to the wall. He sat next to her and proceeded to order his meal, then turned to the girl with him.

"What do you want Hinata? It's on me." Teuchi's eyes opened wide and looked at the pair in surprise since Naruto never paid for anyone voluntarily.

"Um… one of whatever he's having." See finally requested.

She stared at the table in front of her. Her mind was racing as she attempted to figure out if she should say something or remain silent. Before she had an answer, a steaming bowl was placed in front of her, breaking her from her thoughts. A few minutes into their quiet meal, Naruto had finished his third bowl when he turned to Hinata, who was only half way through hers and broke the uncomfortable silence.

"About what we talked about… I have an answer for you." She turned he head quickly in response, not even paying attention to her eating. He chuckled when he saw her face. "You have a little… on your chin." She quickly hid her face and wiped away at her chin.

"Did I get it?" She asked while looking back at him for his inspection.

"Hmm…" He leaned in closer and looked closely at her face causing her to blush. He then looked to her small lips, glistening with ramen broth. "I think there's still a little…" Hinata's eyes went wide when she felt the warm slightly rough lips contacting hers. She soon closed her eyes and focused on the soothing feeling until they separated after a few seconds. Hinata looked into his blue eyes with a dreamy glazed over look. She was so happy that she could barely even make her mind process what had happened.

"I'll have another!" Naruto shouted to Teuchi with the happiest look on his whiskered face. The shouting brought Hinata back to her senses. She looked down at her ramen and then back at Naruto.

"Was… was that your answer?" She asked with a heavy blush gracing her face.

"Yep, I was never really one for words." She nodded happily and couldn't finish eating with the butterflies in her stomach, so she pushed the bowl in front of him.

"You can finish mine." He smiled happily and pulled her into a one armed hug.

"That makes it even easier to say that I love you Hinata!" She started feeling dizzy after hearing him reveal this news to her. Luckily she managed to not pass out and revel in the joy as her heart jumped uncontrollably. Before she could even realize the passage of time, she was mindlessly walking out of Ichiraku's with Naruto.

"Hey, Hinata?" She finally focused her attention to the blonde waving his hand in front of her.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun… What is it?"

"I was wondering if I could walk you home; or not, if your dad might not like it. Can't go pissing him off so early you know." Hinata stopped walking, causing her partner to stop as well. He turned and started staring at her pondering face.

"Umm…" She started before a quiet squeak erupted from her when she noticed his intense look. "Half way." Naruto smiled and swung his arm around the girl, bringing her closer to his side.

"Are you sure you're ok with… er… going out with me, you know, like a couple?" She was looking at the ground when the question came. She looked up and had the most cheerful, sweet smile gracing her lips.

"Yes." She said clearly with a nod for emphasis.

"Good. It has been quite the experience to come to understand what I feel for you… thanks to Kurama." The pair walked in silence until they could just barely see the gate to the Hyuuga manor.

"Well…" Hinata started, not really wanting to let him go for fear of it being all a dream.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later." Naruto waved and started walking away, but stopped and ran back in front of her. "Just one more for the road…" She looked puzzled until she felt his warm breath glide across her lips before making contact. He gently held her neck and shoulder while kissing her soft lips more aggressively than before. When he finally broke it off, she looked to be in a world of her own.

"See ya." He whispered to her dreamy face and took off into Konoha. Hinata was mindlessly walking towards her home. She just stepped into the door when she ran her fingers along her lips and promptly turned bright red. She barely made it to her room when she fell forward onto her bed and passed out.

* * *

That's the end... of the first part... NEXT!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chaotic dynamics: The Human Effect**

* * *

Six months have passed since Naruto's whole world turned upside down thanks to Kurama's intervention. With growing unrest in the Hyuuga clan, the new couple opted to keep their new relationship a secret even among their peers and friends. It was difficult for the both of them since they'd like nothing more than to shout it from the roof tops, and even more so for the blonde ninja who didn't have a lot of restraint; in more ways than one; although it does take two…

It was early fall and the leaves were starting to fade into brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. Naruto sat on top of the Hokage tower, staring off at the swaying trees and dreaming of his perfect future. His dream was, of course, of being Hokage, but unlike previous dreams, there was a wonderful girl at his side, and not an imaginary one. He thought of all the possibilities of life; getting married, maybe even having a child… a girl he decided off hand. He knew having a girl would be trouble, them being so full of drama, but it would certainly not be boring.

"Naruto!" Shouted a common appearance in the tower; one Haruno Sakura. He let his dreams fade away and returned to the land of the living.

"What? Finally ready for that date?" She just scoffed at his usual inquiry. The pink haired girl didn't exactly know when it happened, but she knew that now, unlike many years before, he didn't really want a date and would just use it as a way to irritate her. He didn't have that sparkle in his eye as he waited anxiously for an answer; she saw something hidden in his steely blue gaze; a look of satisfaction. If she didn't know any better she would have sworn that he had a real flesh and blood girlfriend. She shook the thoughts from her head and settled back on the task that was requested of her.

"Tsunade-sama woke up and was pissed when you weren't there." She told him, still wondering what had changed to make in seemingly calmer than previously. Naruto stretched out and yawned in a Shikamaru like laziness from his spot on the roof.

"The paperwork was done though, right?"

"That's why your head is still attached."

"Fine, fine… I'm going." He stood up and made his way down to the Hokage's office. He walked through the door and saw the angered woman sitting behind her desk.

"Yo." He greeted her sour looking face.

"Enough, what is the meaning of this?"

"Of what?" He asked. She started flipping through the a stack of papers and held out a rather large handful of old looking documents.

"Oh…" he muttered when he realized his mistake

"Yeah, 'oh', what are you doing with the Hyuuga clan charter?"

"Yeah, well…" He fell back to his old habits and started scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"I was looking into it to see what could be modified, cause well… uh… I told Neji I'd change the clan, I just needed to know what I'm up against." She sighed and started rubbing her temples.

"You need to tread carefully with them, the elders are stuck in the old way and you could hurt the clan before fixing it."

"I know baa-chan, but this is something I have to do."

"Why is it so important now? Just take your time and you can change anything." He sighed loudly and ruffled his hair.

"I really can't say right now, once I know I can, and how to, change it, you'll know." Tsunade groaned and slumped in her chair. She felt that she was definitely getting too old for this.

"Fine, just leave it alone until you get appointed as Hokage." She offered in utter defeat. She knew that once that guy made up his mind, there was no going back.

"Well, then I just need to become Hokage sooner." He countered with a sly grin and an obvious hint.

"It's not that easy, you are still too young. Your father became the youngest Hokage in history and he was in his mid-twenties."

"Well, if you count my clone training I should be like 50 or 60, right?" Tsunade started laughing.

"You… only you." She chuckled thinking that in all actuality his experience was probably greater than hers at that point, something an average person could never attain at such a young age.

"Hey, you know I was born for this job. Who else can use clones for paperwork?" He offered up as a valid reasoning device.

"You really are something else… You continue training under me and we'll make it impossible for the daimyo to pass you up when I retire." There was an urgent knock at the door that stopped their current conversation and drew attention to the door.

"Yes, enter." The moment the door opened, Naruto started getting nervous and Tsunade stashed the stack of documents in a desk drawer.

"Hiashi-dono." She greeted kindly. "What can we do for you?"

"I am hiring the village to find my daughter, Hinata, she wasn't in her room this morning." Naruto's surprise was evident in his eyes; this was an event he never imagined to take place and closer to his heart than any in the room could ever know.

"What do you mean? I was with… um… I saw her in the village last night." Luckily Hiashi was too worried to notice the slip up, despite his cold attitude towards her, he she was still his precious first born.

"When she was summoned for breakfast, it was revealed that she had packed all her belongings and left. We need to act now if we are expected to catch up to her."

"I'll go." Naruto volunteered quickly. He couldn't imagine exactly what would make her leave especially since things were going so good for them… _**really**_ good.

"This does not require your expertise, Uzumaki-san." Hiashi was quick to inform. "You must learn to delegate, the Hokage can't jump for every mission. Besides, finding someone with the byakugan is impossible for non-scout types."

Naruto was frustrated, he wanted to just chase after her throwing all common sense to the wind, but after all these years he was starting to see the logic Hiashi was offering. Also he couldn't overlook the fact that even Hiashi was hinting at him becoming Hokage, meaning that even the stuffiest of all the clans in the village started to hold him in high regard. The 'Hokage in training' sighed and felt himself thinking of the best group for the mission, he knew Hinata's old team would be best, but had to come up with substitutes for the missing members.

"Fine… I'd like to send Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Ko, and as captain… Inuzuka Hana." Naruto looked over to Tsunade and was greeted with a calculating look as she tapped all her fingers together while she thought about his suggestion.

"Interesting choice, care to share the reasoning?" She asked. Not for the reason that it wasn't a good team, but more to show the Hyuuga head that Naruto was actually quite calculating when he needed to be, something that was sure to spread around the village.

"Obviously Kiba and Shino know her the best as her teammates, Ko can help with the byakugan and was like a body guard for her in the early years, and Hana is good at keeping Kiba focuses and can add to the search with her ninja dogs."

"Your thoughts Hiashi?"

"Exceptional reasoning… I agree." Much to Tsunade's satisfaction, Hiashi's surprise was quite evident at his quick and calculated assesment.

"Very well, Naruto, prepare the mission statements for Kotetsu and Izumo to notify the team that the search for Hinata starts immediately." The Hokage ordered in her commanding voice.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama; Uzumaki-san." Hiashi bowed slightly before taking his leave. Naruto quickly wrote out the orders for the mission and passed them to the Hokage for the official seal to be imprinted and handed them to the pair standing outside of the door when she was done. When they left, Tsunade turned to her blonde apprentice with a smile.

"Maybe there is something about those clones of yours. You'll never be Shikamaru, but a great analysis nonetheless."

"Thanks, but I still want to look for her myself." He muttered, while using all his strength to not leap out the window and take off in search of her.

"I know you would do anything for your friends, but you also need to think clearly, even when it is someone special on the line. I'm sure you know that she can take care of herself and since there was no sign of struggle, it was a conscious decision, so you don't have anything to worry about. Just give it time and we'll find her."

"I know that, I just can't sit still…"

Well…" She eyed a large stack of newly dropped off papers on her desk. "We always have more paperwork."

* * *

8 years later…

* * *

"Hokage-sama; we have returned from our mission." Blue eyes looked up from a few papers littering the large wooden desk while a few birds pecked at the window behind him. He rubbed his sore eyes, burning from concentrating on all the small print, so they could focus properly on the returning team.

"Team Konohamaru… Anything new?" He questioned, hoping for just a shred of evidence on the cold case which he couldn't let go.

"Unfortunately, no. This mission has brought no news about the missing kunoichi. We thoroughly searched Tanigakure and the surrounding area of River Country. Not even a single hit."

The Hokage let out a large sigh and ran his fingers through his spiky blonde hair. It had been seven years since he was appointed as Hokage and not a day went by without ordering at least one team to take on what the teams now called, 'the impossible mission.' The mission paid out over 5 million ryo to the team that could complete it, but as of yet, no one had gotten anywhere close to it. The reward alone was the only thing keeping the teams from outright refusing the mission.

"Another bust…" He mumbled while filing yet another mission report in the failed file. He had been hoping that at some point, there would be news about her somewhere.

"Why do we always have to waste our time going on these stupid 'C' ranked search missions!? I want some real action!" Shouted a small kid with red patches on his face. He had a small grey puppy hidden in his coat who was currently growling at the village leader.

"Well, little Inuzuka, these missions aren't stupid. They are very important tasks for the village. Remember the last talk we had about doing your part for the village?" The little boy nodded, but still wasn't happy about it, even with the Hokage's insistance.

"Good, I was lectured on that exact type of comment years ago. I do understand what you're saying though, but don't be so quick to get into danger that you can't handle. I'll tell you what, if…" He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a metallic toad figurine and held it in the palm of his right hand, then brought up his empty left in the and held it in the same manner .

"If you can tell me where the toad is, you and your team will get the next 'B' mission we get."

"Really?" He asked with eyes lit up. His teammates both sighed. Naruto had to smile, seeing a team similar to his standing before him.

"OK, here we go." He started shuffling his hands from side to side, swapping the toad in each hand randomly. Soon the other two genin were watching as intently as the Inuzuka, seemingly mesmerized by what was going to happen.

"And go." He finished and held out both of his hands in a fist. "Where is it?" The youngsters ran through the images of his shuffling in their mind and soon all three pointed to his left hand. The blonde smiled slyly as he slowly opened his hand, finger by finger, showing… nothing. Seeing their surprised looks, he open his right in the same manner, resulting in… nothing.

"Hey, no fair!" The little boy objected. He used all his skill and could even smell the metal coming from the hand he pointed to.

"Nope, it's fair. Once you know where it will be, you'll get your mission… now check your pocket." The Inuzuka kid rummaged through his pocket and felt a heavy figure, pulling it out he was surprised to see the toad was there.

"Hey, how'd you…" Naruto was chuckling now and watched as Konohamaru took the toad from the boy and set in on the desk.

"Come on now…" the young jonin pleaded with his team as he ushered them towards the door. "The Hokage has work to do." Once the door slammed shut, Naruto leaned back in his chair and let out another large sigh.

"At least I know why baa-chan always drank." He murmured and he reached for something in his 'special' drawer… cup ramen.

"Inoichi-san! We have an intruder heading to the western gate!" The dirty blonde haired jonin looked up from his latest report he was filling out in his office deep in the interrogation/intelligence building. He stood up quickly and read the report.

"Send out the advance team and inform the Hokage." He ordered.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

The sun was shining brightly in the mid-summer day heat. Small sandaled feet were shuffling slowly through the coarse gravel strewn about the road into Konoha. The small feet were attached to an equally small girl wearing tight black shorts and a bright orange sleeveless top. She had dark shoulder length hair that was reminiscent of the midnight sky, not quite black and glimmered with distinct hue in the sun. The look was topped off with a Konoha headband wrapped around her eyes in a blindfold, silver plate glistening in the sun. A sparkling silver ring hung down from her neck as a pendant, strung through the chain of a necklace.

A group of five ninja jumped onto the road, blocking her way to Konoha. They stared intently at the familiar headband but had no record of any kunoichi, past or present, matching her appearance. Even more baffling to them was her very young age; not many genin were even that young.

"State your business." Ordered the masked anbu at the front of the group; obviously the leader. The small girl stopped and looked up at them.

"My mom said I wasn't supposed to talk with strange guys, even if you wore the same symbol as me." She spoke with a clear little voice which would cause anyone to melt for the sweet girl.

"Then who would you like to talk to sweetie?" The Anbu asked as he knelt in front of her. She thought for a moment, with her head cocked to the side, while tapping her chin.

"I don't know, but I came for help. My mom told me to find the man who knows someone named Kurama and show him my necklace." She finally offered, sensing that the men in front of her weren't dangerous and did want to help her.

"We'll have to check out your story. Would you be a good little girl and go with us to the Hokage?"

"He's the leader, right? I remember from what mom taught me." She thought for a moment longer and nodded. "Ok, I'll go."

The five ninja surrounded the little girl and escorted her into town. They were intrigued by how the girl managed to keep her distance when they moved and turned corners since she was still blindfolded with the hitai-ate.

"Can she see?" One ninja whispered to the lead Anbu, not being able to resist.

"I would say, no, but she is following us." He replied while motioning for his subordinate to return to his position.

* * *

The group soon arrived at the Hokage tower with the little girl in tow. Upon entering the Hokage's office the little girl was greeted by an office with ninja of every shape and color. A tough looking blonde was behind the desk with two kunoichi; a skimpy dressed blonde on one side and a pink haired woman on the other. Behind them looking out the window was the bored jonin strategist, Shikamaru.

"Go on…" The Anbu urged, pushing the girl forward while they backed away. With all the ninja in the room the small girl showed no sign of fear which they all found fascinating.

"Hi, what's your name?" Sakura asked kindly while kneeling in front of her, so she was below her eye level.

"Aiko."

"Ok Aiko-chan, what is your family name?"

"It's just Aiko." She repeated. The girl either didn't have a family name or didn't want to give it, either way she wasn't going to make it easy to know how to help.

"Alright, what can we do for you?" Sakura asked with the sweetest smile she could manage.

"My mom got sick and she told me to go to Konoha to get help when she was taken away by some guys."

"Who's your mom?" Naruto asked while stepping in front of the others, drawing the little girl's attention to him. There was something about her hair that just couldn't be ignored by him and he had a feeling that he should be questioning her. The girl gasped and started stepping backwards with a scared look on her face.

"What wrong Aiko-chan?" He asked, seeing the fear on her face. She hadn't been afraid of anyone, but something frightened her when she looked at him. Her frightful gaze was locked on his torso, which was even stranger.

"He's scary." She whimpered while backing up till she was pressed against the wall of the office.

"Who? Me?" Naruto was puzzled. Idiotic, stupid, moronic, you name it he's been called it but he's never been called scary; well aside from the times the villagers thought he was the kyuubi.

"Not you… The monster inside you." This comment startled everyone in the room, but finally made sense to Naruto. He could remember the time Sasuke saw the fox years ago so it wasn't impossible for someone with a doujutsu.

"Can you see Kurama?" She nodded and grabbed at her necklace after hearing the familiar name. Noticing the movement, Naruto was curious as to why the mentioning of the fox's name got a reaction from the girl; there wasn't many people who knew his name.

"What do you have there?" He asked while stepping closer for a better look.

Aiko pulled the necklace off over her head and held it tightly in her hand. Slowly she held it out to him, still clenching it in her little hand. She was still fearful of what she saw but knew that this man was the one she was looking for and had to trust in her mother's words.

"Mom said to give it to the guy with Kurama and he'd help no matter what I ask." She slowly opened her hand and dropped the necklace into the large calloused mitt held open to receive it. The blonde Hokage's hands started to shake as he looked at the small ring at the end of the chain. A tear started rolling down his cheek when he looked at the little girl until it hit him; he knew where he saw that hair before.

"Aiko-chan… How old are you?" He managed to ask with a shaky voice, making those around him wonder what he just realized and why it caused such an emotional reaction.

"I just turned seven." More tears ran down his whiskered cheeks and he wrapped his arms around the surprised girl and hugged her tightly. It was awkward for the skilled ninja in the room to see their Hokage openly weeping on the little girl's shoulder while holding onto her like she was his only lifeline.

"Naruto, what's going on?" Sakura asked while watching the scene play out before her. He let the girl out of the hug and draped the necklace back around her neck.

"Sakura, get your medic kit. We leave now!" He ordered and then frantically ran around his office, gathering various supplies and tools and throwing them into a small pile on his desk.

"You're the Hokage; you can't just run off to help some little girl. We don't even know her." Ino offered while eyeing the little blindfolded girl who was watching the blonde man darting around the room in wonder. He stopped at his desk and pulled out a wakizashi and strapped it vertically across his back.

"As the Hokage this order is not debatable. Shikamaru, delegate the running of the village while we're gone." He ordered while heading for the coat rack after tucking away all the tools into his weapons pouch and strapped it to his thigh.

"Tch… Troublesome…" Shikamaru scoffed while Sakura blocked the Hokage's path, demanding a good reason why the village's leader needed to up and leave his post on a whim.

"Give me one reason why the Hokage needs to go." Sakura demanded while continually moving to block his way when he attempted to step around her.

"I think… no I'm sure Aiko-chan is my daughter; now grab your gear… We're going to get Hinata." He pushed past the astonished kunoichi and threw his father's jacket over his shoulders.

"Huh, what?" She muttered in confusion while Shikamaru perked up at the news. The Hokage kneeled in front on the little girl and started untying the blindfold. She started squirming and resisting his actions. Her hands gripped his wrists in objection showing that it was something quite important that stayed hidden.

"You don't have to hide them here." He gently told her. Her grip loosened and her hands fell to her side. Pulling off the headband, he retied it around the girl's neck. He grinned when he saw those beautiful pale eyes open, confirming her Hyuuga lineage. Looking closer, he noticed something was off when he looked at the sides of her face at the lack of the bulged veins.

"Is your byakugan always active?" He asked after the inspection, knowing that she could only see through the hitai-ate with it.

"Yep, mom says my eyes aren't like hers because I have close to five times the chakra she has inside me."

"Interesting… and you can see Kurama too…" He stood up and turned back to Sakura.

"Half an hour, be at the gate." He ordered before turning back to his cute new interest.

"You hungry?" She smiled and nodded rapidly. "Alright, what do you want?"

"Could we… Get ramen?"

"Ha, ha… that settles it. Orange shirt and ramen; you're definitely my girl." He grabbed her hand and headed out of his office, both wearing a wide grin. There were astonished looks and mumbling between the ninja left in the office as they tried to piece things together while watching their Hokage walk out of his office. They were soon out in the village headed towards Ichiraku's when Akio looked up at the man next to her.

"Are you really my dad?" She asked with the most emotionally filled eyes he had ever seen. She had apparently caught what he said in the office and wanted to be sure she heard it correctly.

"It's a very safe bet. Did your mom tell you that your dad gave her that ring when he asked her to marry him?" She held the ring which was around her neck and nodded.

"Well, than I'm your dad." She smiled wide and happily started to swing her arms on their way down the road. She had asked her mother many times about her father, but she would just tear up and tell her that one day she would get to meet him and wouldn't say any more. She suddenly paused and decided that she could get some answers now.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you and mom not together? Do you not like each other?" She asked, earning a saddened smile from the man at her side.

"Did you ask your mom about that?"

"I did, but she just started crying whenever I asked, so I stopped asking."

He nodded and let out a sigh as he stared off into the sky, remembering the short time he had together with the lovely young woman. He turned back to the mirror image of Hinata's younger form and held her hand a little tighter.

"She cried because we still love each other. It was probably really hard on her to leave me here."

"Then why did she?"

"To protect you. She left here without anyone even knowing she was pregnant. Her family had an old law that would hurt you if they knew about it." He revealed, finally voicing the whole reason he wanted to change the Hyuuga clan charter.

"Why? That's stupid." Naruto chuckled at her interpretation of the law, she was definitely correct with her analysis.

"Yes it is. Things take time to change and it took me quite some time to change them, all so I could be with your mom."

"So are you going to live with us?" She asked, hooping that she would be able to get to know her father without leaving her mother behind.

"Actually, you guys would come live with me here; would that be ok?"

"Yep." She chirped energetically before her mouth started to water at the scent of Ichiraku's famous ramen. Naruto chuckled once again after seeing the little girl, well, his little girl, salivating over his longtime favorite food. Finally the wait for the both of them was over as they stepped into the ramen stand with famished smiles.

"Hey Ayame!" He greeted the woman behind the counter. Before she could respond Aiko was on a stool calling out her order like he would do back when he was still in academy.

"Who's the cutie?" Ayame asked in interest. She had seen quite a lot in the restaurant, but the Hokage in full dress with a never before seen Hyuuga girl was definitely something to remember.

"This is my daughter Aiko-chan." He introduced with a smile only a proud father could give. The shock twisted the usually calm and collected woman's face into something truly unique.

"Your what!? How?"

"How?" He asked with a sly smirk… how log had he waited for a perfect setup like this.

"Well, you see, when two people really love each other…" the brown haired chef got flustered and slapped the counter, sharply breaking up his attempt at making a joke.

"That's… you know what I'm saying." She frustratingly grabbed their orders and stormed to the back of the shop, leaving the laughing blonde and a hungry little girl sitting at the counter. A few minutes later their orders arrived and Aiko was devouring her meal at a rate that would rival even Choji.

"Now, are you going to tell me about this little Hyuuga girl?" Ayame asked, seeing that the girl was temporarily satiated.

"Not much to say, it was a surprise when she showed up just a few minutes ago. We'll be leaving in a few minutes to go get her mother, Hinata."

"You mean the girl that ran away?"

"The same."

"Thif ramen is awefome." Piped in the girl with broth dripping down her chin and mouth crammed full, puffing out her cheeks as she still tried to jam more in her mouth.

"The best around sweetie." He was going to make sure she hurried so they could get going to find her mother, but after looking at her bowl, it wasn't going to be a problem in the least. Within another minute, they were walking out of the ramen stand, both with satisfied stomachs. Realizing the time passed, Naruto knew they were running behind.

"Aiko-chan we need to hurry." He bent down on one knee and leaned forward, motioning for her to ride on him "Get on my shoulders."

"It's ok dad, I can run fast." She replied, still unsure and kind of embarrassed at his gesture.

"Not this fast, come on." He urged. She didn't argue any further and climbed aboard. "Now hang on tight." He felt her little arms constrict around him and he grinned wide as he leaned forward in a runner's stance.

* * *

Sakura had just arrived at the gate with Naruto nowhere to be found. She was about to start fuming about bossy people and not being able to keep his own impossible time table, until a bright beacon of orange light flashed next to her followed by the sudden appearance of the blonde Hokage and a giggling girl on his shoulders.

"NARUTO!" Sakura shouted as she was trying to calm her heart from the sudden scare.

"We're here!" He announced, sheepishly laughing before getting serious and interrupted his little girl's uncontrolled giggling.

"So, Aiko-chan, where is your mom?" He asked, hoping for somewhere close.

"We live in Whirlpool Village."

"Whirlpool Country? Isn't that where your mother is from Naruto?" Sakura asked, according to their intelligence reports, there wasn't anyone left on the island, but then again, their reports on that place was quite old and she recalled hearing that a fishing village popped up in that area about 10 or 12 years ago.

"Yeah, I've never been there though… Let's get a move on, we only have five hours before dark and I want to be to the port city by daybreak for the ferry. We'll rest on the boat ride to whirlpool."

"God, you are worse when you're not an idiot." Sakura muttered, grumbling about the slave driver of a Hokage as they took off towards the south eastern border of Fire Country. They ran full out for hours, making phenomenal time across the country side, even the overly anxious green duo would be impressed.

* * *

The sun started to set and Aiko had already fallen asleep and was nestled comfortably in Naruto's arms. He would glance down at her calm, sleeping face while they ran through the trees at breakneck speeds. The longer they continued running, the more Sakura started slowing down once she hit her limit, costing them precious time. About an hour past night fall, Sakura slowed considerably and knew she was beyond capacity for any further running. It had taken everything she had to keep up with the Hokage at that pace and making it that long was a testament to her training, but even she was still human.

"I'm sorry, I just can't." She panted. She usually wasn't one to complain first, but keeping the pace with her old teammate was next to impossible for anyone.

"You done?" He asked, stopping next to her, knowing that he was asking the impossible.

"Yeah… I should have stopped before nightfall." She puffed, trying to catch her breath

"Well, we're not stopping; we're already a few hours behind…" He handed the sleeping girl off to the pink haired kunoichi so he had his hands free to create a clone. The clone appeared leaning forward with his arms stretched backwards towards the medic.

"You're joking right?" She asked after seeing that he wanted to carry her with his clone. He held out his arms and took his daughter back. The little girl wiggled around a little bit to get comfortable and was back into a deep sleep.

"Not joking, we're going to be traveling even faster now to make up for lost time." Sakura shook her head before reluctantly climbing on the clones back.

For the second time that day, Sakura screeched out of surprise when she was enveloped in orange flame-like chakra emanating from both the clone and the original. In a brilliant streak, the two tore through the trees and trails. For the first 15 minutes, Sakura was nearly strangling the clone as she held on for dear life. Finally she grew accustomed to the speed, and the fatigue took hold and she drifted off to sleep on his back.

* * *

The sun was breaking across the horizon right as the wide ocean started coming into view. The light blues and oranges reflected off the sparkling surface in a wonderful display of the beauty of nature. The shadows of the buildings lining the shipyard were starting to be illuminated by the rising sun when the Naruto pair landed at the ferry station startling the gateman at their overly flashy entrance.

"When's the first boat to whirlpool?" He asked as the flames faded from his body, revealing his usual kage clothing.

"H…Hokage-sama." Muttered the man in surprise. "If we move fast, we can get you on the one that sets out in 5 minutes."

"Good, which one?"

"Dock 5." The moment the man gave that information, Naruto nodded and was gone. Within a fraction of a minute they landed on the deck of the ship. The jostling of movement started waking Sakura when the clone set her down and quickly disappeared. She looked up and saw the wide expanse of the ocean set before the rising sun and was in awe that they arrived in such a short time. Naruto sat next to her and smiled before stretching out and closing his eyes.

"Sakura, wake me up when we get there." Sakura smiled while watching the small girl peacefully sleeping on his chest.

If you had ever told her ten years ago that he'd be a loving father and Hokage, she would have declared you legally insane. Nonetheless there it was before her; that little girl took to him so quickly that it didn't even seem real, but he took to her just as quick. Looking back out at the wonderful scenery she was finally able to reflect on what had caused the changes in her teammate and friend over the years. What amount of love did it take to never lose sight of his affection over the last 8 years of being apart?

* * *

The large boat docked at the island of whirlpool country just after mid-morning. Naruto was still sleeping while Sakura and Aiko were busy enjoying the scenery of the ocean and talking about the little things in life. The few passengers finally started to embark, so it was time to wake the sleeping man.

"Hey Aiko-chan; can you go wake up Naruto?" Sakura asked, knowing just how kids would choose to wake up someone.

"OK!" She shouted and took off, running towards the sleeping man. She didn't even slow down as she dove into the air and landed squarely on his stomach.

"Oof…" He exhaled while snapping wide awake. He looked down at the weight on his stomach and just had to return the grin the little girl was wearing.

"Not so hard sweetie." He coughed out while catching his breath. He patted the girl on the head and stood up with a yawn.

"Where do we go now Naruto?" Sakura asked as they started leaving the ship.

"Onward to whirlpool village, it should be close to the only village on this island aside from the port." HE declared as they saw the many shops set up for fresh produce.

"We should probably grab some fruit on our way through port." Sakura suggested when she saw some delectable items while walking through the port market.

"Ok, lets grab and go, I just can't slow myself down when Hinata is still out there." They continued heading down the skinny rocky path while eating, much slower than before since Aiko was walking on her own. He had wanted to hurry, but he couldn't show up in the village with his whole group fatigued from the journey; that was just something you didn't ever do, especially when something was this important.

By the time the sun was 3 hours past high noon, a small village started rising on the horizon. There wasn't nearly as many trees in Whirlpool country as near Konoha and the path they were traveling on was starting to be lined with thick bamboo. When they entered the village, the small party gained many looks since they weren't traveling very incognito; not like Naruto really could anyways.

"Dad, this way." Aiko squealed and grabbed his hand. She dragged him through the village and down small alleys until the got to a small little house at the edge of town. She flung open the door and pulled him inside. Naruto started feeling bad that they had to live in such a small house while he was in the lap of luxury at the Hokage's residence. It was a tiny one room house where Hinata and Aiko had to share the only bed and had just a rundown couch in the small living room. While the girl was showing off her house, there was a note ominously held to the counter with a large knife; this was exactly what he was looking for.

_You have one week to have the back medication costs paid in full or the woman won't get her medication and will die – Bring the money to the hill side shrine before nightfall of the final day._

Naruto folded the paper and slipped the note into his pocket before heading for the door.

"Aiko-chan, Sakura; let's go get Hinata." He pushed the front door open with anger induced force and led the group back into the heart of the village where he stopped.

"Um, Aiko-chan… Where's the shrine at?" he asked while grinning stupidly. Sakura sighed; he was still Naruto at heart after all; all action and no planning.

* * *

With Aiko now in the lead, they came upon the shrine. A large cube shaped building, which was overrun by vines and almost hidden in the thicket of bamboo surrounding it. Naruto looked it over, looking for any traps before deciding to move forward. He eyed strategic points around the building where one would lie in wait for an ambush. When it appeared to be free from immediate danger, he moved towards the building slowly.

"Aiko-chan, stay right behind me. Do not stray from my side." He whispered to the girl.

The large heavy wooden door to the shrine creaked as it slid open. The interior was sparse and the 7 men inside jumped to attention at the sudden intrusion. It was hard to see anyone in the darkened room. The one at the lead wore a ninja headband wrapped around his bald head. The three squiggly lines with a gash through it denoted his status as a missing nin from Yugakure. Dressed in a tight, all black jumpsuit, the enemy ninja pulled out a large blade which was hanging on his back and held it in front of him.

"What do you want?" He demanded in a gruff voice, moving the sword as a means to emphasize his seriousness.

The contrast between the dark interior and the light blasting through the door washed out the men's vision of the man standing in front of them, adding to their nervousness since they had no clue to the identity or strength of the intruder; a mistake only an amateur, or overly confident ninja, would make. Serious blue eyes surveyed the room further when his eyes finally focused on the small woman at the back. She was lying on a makeshift futon mattress and her face was flushed and had difficulty breathing, evident from the erratic rising and falling of her chest.

"I'm here for the woman…" He told the man in a stern and forceful tone; one demanding action which was forged from his job as Hokage. Before waiting for any reaction he signaled his teammate.

"Sakura." He called out. Within an instant the pink haired medic ninja was at Hinata's side with her hands glowing with chakra as she checked on her status. The men inside could barely follow her movements.

"Konoha?" The Yu ninja muttered after seeing the headband resting on Sakura's head.

"She's been poisoned!" The medic shouted back once she had an analysis. "It's a rare addictive poison. Without the poison she gets sicker and the more poison she takes the sicker she gets." She revealed, really pissing off the blonde, and he didn't need any more provoking.

"Is there an antidote?" He asked while the Yu ninja smirked.

"There are only two people who can get an antidote." The man revealed, angering the blonde further yet at his smug behavior.

"I know this poison." Sakura confirmed. "I have all the ingredients with me." The bald man had surprise spread across his face which was soon replaced by determination to save face.

His change in demeanor caused Naruto to reach back and discretely grasp the hilt of his short blade. Within a fraction of a second the bald man jumped at him while the others lunged at Sakura. Naruto didn't even move one inch as he felt his little girl holding tightly to his body. Right as that large blade was slicing downward; his wakizashi was drawn and made a loud screeching sound as it sparked and skidded across the metallic blade while clashing together. The bald ninja got his first look at the whiskered cheeks, deep blue eyes, and unwavering confidence of his foe. His attention was then drawn to the thunderous quake behind him. Glancing back he saw Sakura pulling back her fist and a pile of broken bodies lying in a small crater. The bald man looked back with a flicker of panic and caught a glimpse of a large white hat tied to the blonde's side.

"W-who are you?" Naruto grinned while his blade started to glow with chakra and a notch fell off from the massive blade of his enemy.

"Uzumaki Naruto… Hokage." He reached his left hand up to the hilt, grasping it with two hands and flung the blade effortlessly through the large blade, tossing the majority of the sliced blade flailing through the air and sticking into the ground five feet away. The Yu ninja was unbelievably fast as he started running hand seals in a ghostly panic, hoping to find an opening for escape.

"Raiton: ack…" He didn't fully get his jutsu completed when his jaw got dislocated when the pommel of Naruto's wakizashi struck him right under the chin. Smoothly he sheathed his blade when he confirmed all opponents were down.

"You're really strong dad." Chirped the smiling girl who was still at his side looking at him in awe.

"So is your mom." He responded while starting off towards where Hinata and Sakura were.

"How is she?" He asked while getting near.

"Carry her back to the house; I'll need to mix the antidote. After that she'll just need rest and she'll be good as new." He nodded in understanding of the good news and gingerly picked up the small woman and smiled when he looked at her beautiful face.

* * *

She didn't even age one bit over the last 8 years and was just as beautiful as the day he first kissed her. Even her body was still soft and toned and it just felt wonderful to him to hold her in his arms again. At that moment, it didn't even feel like that many years had passed. He carried her into the house and set her down on the bed, pulling the sheets up to her shoulders. He kissed her warm forehead and went out into the kitchen where Sakura was mixing the antidote. Sakura handed him a small glass of nasty looking yellow colored liquid.

"Get her to drink this; all of it." He took the glass and headed back into the bedroom where Aiko was now lying next to her mother.

"Is mom going to really be ok? She's been sick for so long." She asked with a small sniffle.

"Don't worry; Sakura is the best medic I know." He patted her head with a smile before focusing on Hinata. He propped up her head and poured the contents of the glass down her throat, causing her a few involuntary coughs in the process. Once the coughing settled down, he placed her head back onto the bed to let her rest.

"Come on Aiko-chan, let her sleep for a while." She silently got off the bed and went with her dad out into the living room, closing the door quietly behind them.

* * *

The sun of the next day was violently pouring through the window of the small bedroom. Eyelids covering pearly eyes slowly fluttered open, squinting in the bright light. She looked around the room, taking in the familiar sight where she was and rolled over and saw the empty place where her daughter would usually sleep. She looked at the clock and realized just how late in the day it was and pulled her body to her feet. She tightened the belt of her robe and started to open the bedroom door.

"Aiko-chan?" She called out as the door swung open. She heard quieted voices and started getting scared without knowing her daughter's whereabouts.

"I'm out here coloring with dad." She announced without looking up from her picture. The dark haired woman froze in the doorway while looking into the living room. Sitting at the small table was a man wearing a white jacket with 'Hokage' written down its back. Her eyes started to water when the spiky blonde hair topped head turned, revealing blue eyes and a smile that could stop her heart in its tracks. Her lips started to quiver as she made a step forward; tears dripping off her face. When she was close, she just leapt forward landing in Naruto's arms while she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Mom, dad; why are you both crying?" Aiko asked while looking at her reunited parents.

"People cry when they are really happy Aiko-chan." Sakura assured her, while being kind of interested in the interaction herself. Neither one of them gave any indication that they were in that kind of relationship and the display of the love they had was almost overwhelming.

"Naruto-kun…" she sniffled while her face was buried in his chest.

"I've come to bring you home, Hinata." He whispered while not loosening his grip on her body, almost being afraid to let go in a fear that it was just a dream.

"But…"

"Everything is ok now, you can come back with Aiko-chan." The small girl jumped between them at the mention of her.

"Can we go mom? They have the best ramen _ever_." Both Hinata and Sakura started laughing at the mention of ramen.

"Hey, ramen is no laughing matter." Naruto reminded with Aiko nodding her head in agreement. "Besides, you'll always remember Ichiraku's, right?" He asked before pulling her head off of him kissing her in front of everyone.

"Dad!" Aiko hollered making everyone start laughing.

"I see you two hit it off, I'm so happy." Hinata said with eyes still full of tears.

"Well, you could have told me." He replied with words that could have been taken as a joking pout or even as a serious berating.

"I know, but then you would have come with me and you wouldn't be Hokage. I couldn't let you give up your dream like that."

"Ok, third wheel here with a question…" Sakura chimed, braking up the conversation. "One: why did you have to leave in the first place and two: WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!? COME ON!"

"Sorry Sakura-san, the clan doesn't allow of unapproved um… relations… they deal punishment swiftly and harshly. The moment I saw a second chakra source I knew I had to leave since if I could see it, so could everyone else. It wasn't planned, it just… happened."

"Ok, I believe _that_ with the amount of effort he put into changing that clan charter, who would have thought this was the reason, but how did you evade our search parties, this idiot of a Hokage sent any free team out to look for you?"

"People tend to ignore those with disabilities; everyone was looking for a Hyuuga, not a blind woman with a blind child. It is amazing how much people don't want to talk to or about the disabled."

"Clever." Sakura commented.

"Yep, that's my Hinata." He praised happily, causing her cheeks to redden slightly.

"Alright, if you're healthy enough for this 'lovey dovey' stuff, then I say you're cured. You may feel some after effects of the addictive part of the poison, but it shouldn't be too bad." Sakura informed and flopped back onto the couch.

"Thanks Sakura." Spoke the blonde. He helped his girls up to their feet, since the circulation was being cut off at his legs with all of them on top of him. After they were standing, the reunited couple stared at each other, looking into each other's eyes lovingly. Naruto smiled and wiped the wetness off her porcelain like cheeks and then wrapped his arms around the small woman, holding her tight.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear.

"Love you too" She replied with great happiness.

"Me three!" Yelled Aiko as she threw her little arms around both of them, earning chuckles all around.

"Yes, Aiko-chan… We love you too." He assured while patting her head.

"Ahem…" Sakura coughed as an interruption. "So… when are we heading back; you've got Hokage duties to attend to? And in no way am I going to get back to Konoha in less than a day either, so don't even suggest it."

"That is entirely up to my girls." He answered easily.

"Well, if we pack now, we can make the last boat off the island. I'm excited to get home." Hinata revealed with a grin. Although it was nice to live in her current village, it just wasn't home. She hurridly ran off to her room and packed up everything she couldn't live without and got dressed for the trip. She came out with a large traveling pack and the same clothing she used to wear during her career in Konoha.

"Ready Aiko-chan?" She asked. The little girl grinned and nodded. Naruto grabbed the pack from Hinata and threw it over his shoulder and headed for the door. Once outside the house, Hinata left a message on the door for the landlord and then the group set off for the port.

Sakura watched the family of three from a few steps behind them. Aiko was happily swinging her arms, with each of her parents' hands in hers, skipping along carelessly through the village. They just seemed like they had been together forever and not apart for such a great amount of time. Suddenly a smirk spread across Sakura's face as an idea graced her mind. She ran up next to Hinata and put her arm around her.

"You know… we haven't really talked much before; how about we change that?" The medic grinned even more as she pulled the Hyuuga away from her family for a little 'girl talk' about who knows what.

* * *

NEXT!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chaotic Dynamics Chapter 4 **

* * *

A few days had passed since the group of four had left whirlpool village for Konoha. Everything was uneventful and went as expected, that was until the gates of Konoha came into view. Hinata was feeling nervous, not because of the dark clouds forming overhead following the sudden change in temperature, but because of knowing that she'd have to confront her clan. She thought about avoiding them altogether, but knew that her father deserved to see his granddaughter. She knew he still loved his children equally; there was just the issue of the pressure from the clan which made him behave as he did.

"Hinata, you ok?" Naruto asked since she seemed to be slowing down.

"I'm worried about my father." She revealed.

"Grandpa? Do we get to see him?" Aiko asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Do you want to Aiko-chan?" Asked her cheery father, making Hinata's decision an easy one.

"Yep!" She chirped.

"Well Hinata, looks like it's settled." She tried to smile through her nervousness, but she just looked more goofy than reassuring, getting her daughter to giggle at her face.

"You're coming with, right?" Hinata asked while looking up at his blue eyes, almost pleading him to go.

"Well, I do have to relieve Shikamaru and check in at the office, and I'm sure there's a ton of paperwork…" Hinata was looking more down and hurt with each new detail making him start laughing. She turned to him with a cross between a smile and a pout and slapped his arm.

"I'm not used to your jokes anymore." She grumbled. They all finally crossed the gate into Konoha, marking their arrival home.

"Home sweet home!" Sakura shouted happily. "I'm off to check in at the hospital. I'll see you guys!" She took off towards the hospital and disappeared as she rounded the corner of a building.

Naruto quickly made a clone and sent it out to his office to take care of things while he went with the rest of his family to the Hyuuga estate. Hinata stopped outside the gates separating her from her clan and gazed at their height. It had been quite some time since she had entered those walls and they now seemed much more ominous; looking down on her wayward soul.

"You ready?" Hinata just gave a shallow nod and followed the man she loved into the walls of the estate. With the Hokage at the lead, they were greeted by a passing branch member like the blonde was a member of the family.

"What can I do for you today Hokage-sama?" He greeted with a bow.

"I require an audience with Hiashi-dono." He replied politely surprising the quiet woman who was hiding behind his body, out of sight from the branch member. The branch member bowed once more before motioning him to follow. They soon arrived at Hiashi's study where he bowed once more and stumbled over his feet when hefinally saw the girls following him. Hinata smiled and gave a little wave after remembering the person.

"Hokage-sama." Hiashi greeted in his usually serious voice. He set aside his current work and silently offered a seat to him.

"I believe I have something of interest to you." The stern man looked up with a face filled with hope and dread in what he had to say. Naruto just smiled warmly and took a large step to the side revealing Aiko standing in front of her mother with Hinata's hands on her small shoulders.

"Mom; is this grandpa?" Hinata smiled and nodded. In an instant the little girl ran forward and jumped into his lap. "Grandpa!" She squealed while hugging him.

"Wha…?" He muttered in surprise. Looking down at Aiko's pale little eyes made him remember how he felt when holding Hinata for the first time after she was born. His always stern face started curling up into a smile as he turned back to his daughter.

"Welcome home Hinata. You have a wonderful daughter." He complimented, making the woman smile at his kind words.

"Hey grandpa?" Aiko interrupted. He looked down at the girl looking up at him. "Your chakra isn't moving correctly around your heart." His eyes widened in surprise as well as Hinata's.

"Father… How long?" She asked with sadness gracing her eyes. He coughed to gain his composure again after his secret was revealed.

"About two years ago." He revealed, catching the Hokage's attention.

"Heart problems?" He asked, seeing that as the only possibility.

"Yes, but enough of that, how did she see that without the byakugan?" Hiashi asked.

"Aiko-chan has probably the most advanced byakugan ever. It is always active." Hinata told him proudly.

"How? She'd run out of chakra." He wondered out loud making Naruto nervous since his secret was going to be revealed in short order.

"She… inherited her father's chakra capacity." She told him while glancing over at Naruto who was starting to show his nervousness.

"Who's her father?" Naruto coughed at the question and had a very guilty look on his face while looking at the wall while scratching his neck.

"Well, uh…" He started nervously.

"The Hokage?" He asked in utter surprise. "How?" Naruto smirked at the question.

"Well you see; when two people…"

"NARUTO!" Hinata yelled while stamping her foot for emphasis, despite the hidden smirk on her face.

"Come on; it was a perfect set up. How could I not?" He pleaded.

"Seriously though father. Naruto and I were together for 6 months before I left… and well, you know why I left then." He nodded and a frown appeared on his face.

"Although I am disappointed, under the circumstances that was an appropriate decision... Now that your Hokage over there changed our clan's laws you can return home, although I take it that you'll be living with him?"

"Yes, that is the plan." She answered cheerfully

"Very well… now what is the deal with the Konoha band around her neck? Have you been training her?"

"To the best of my ability, father." She replied with a slight smirk, knowing that he'd want to test that

"Aiko-chan, was it? Would you like to spar with a cousin of yours so I can see your abilities?" She thought for a while before looking to her mother. After receiving a smile and nod, giving her permission to decide for herself, she grinned wildly.

"OK!" She hopped up off his lap happily and skipped over to Hinata.

"Come on mom; I want to show you something… you too dad. You're going to be so surprised." She seemed very excited for this spar, much more than usual. Hiashi was happy to see her enthusiasm, knowing that the blonde's influence must be strong in her. They entered a large training area where Neji was currently sparring with a little boy who seemed quite adept at the gentle fist. Neji immediately turned to them after seeing their entrance with his byakugan.

"Hinata-sama." He greeted with astonishment still lingering on his voice.

"Hello Neji –niisan." She returned with a bow. His attention then went to the little girl next to her.

"Aiko-chan, this is my cousin Neji. He's kind of your uncle." The small girl waved and then looked at the little boy next to him.

"Do I get to fight him?" She asked hopefully. Hinata looked to her father where he nodded, then turned back to her daughter.

"I guess so." She replied. Aiko ran up to the little boy with a grin on her face.

"My name's Aiko, what's yours?" The boy sort of ignored her while replying.

"Kaito."

"Come on Neji!" Naruto shouted. "You could at least raise him to not be just like you." Hinata looked confused until she realized that the boy was actually Neji's son.

"You sure she can handle it?" Neji asked while joining the group and started talking up the by he was so proud of.

"She'll be fine." Hinata assured with a confident grin. "Besides, she has something she wanted to show me and Naruto."

"Kaito, Aiko… you ready?" Hiashi called out, catching their attention. The little ones faced each other holding their hands up in the gentle fist style stance. "Begin!"

Kaito struck first with great speed, thrusting his palm forward only to see his wrist barely tapped in a way that took little effort in making it barely miss his target.

"Nii-san, how old is he?" Hinata asked while they watched the two trade blows.

"He'll be 7 in 5 months."

"So about 6 months younger than Aiko-chan." She commented before looking back at the fight. She could see that Aiko wasn't even trying in their fight, just kind of playing with the boy.

"Kaito-kun!" Hinata called out to the boy. "Use your Byakugan!" She saw Neji's look and smiled.

"Aiko-chan isn't able to turn hers off. It's been an unfair fight all this time." She just loved the look on Neji's face; he had been played so easily.

"Kaito!" He called out. "Don't hold back even if she's a girl." He looked back at Hinata with a smirk of his own. "He's just warming up too."

"Byakugan." Called out the little boy as veins bulged arround his temples. He increased his speed all at once with his new awareness and started attacking again. Aiko's feet stayed in one spot while she diverted strikes, one right after the other without even moving an inch. He got angry at always missing and attacked even faster, soon positioning her in an unavoidable position. His right palm shot forward, aimed directly at her chest. His eyes showed surprise and confusion as her little body bent backwards and she dropped to her knees, cleanly avoiding the shot with plain flexibility. She then reached up and cleanly tapped his leg, causing him to jump back and massage the chakra back into his limb.

"She can see tenketsu?" Neji questioned, somewhat surprised at her ability at such a young age. He was deemed a prodigy in the clan and he had been just a few years older than her when he started to see them.

"You think that's something?" Naruto interjected. "She can even see Kurama." He could tell that for some odd reason the blonde was very proud of the little girl fighting.

"You act like you're her father." Neji retorted. He saw the Hokage just smirk in such a awy that it seemed like a challenge. Neji returned the look, knowing exactly what it meant; their rematch of the chuunin exam would be fought between the next generation.

"Kaito! You can use special techniques! Your fight is unrestricted!" Neji knew that when dealing with someone related to Naruto, that there was no point in holding back even a shred of your strength, a mistake he made quite some time ago. The boy grinned at Aiko when she shifted forward, bringing the fight to him.

"You are with my divination: Hakke Rokujuuyonshou" Aiko jumped in surprise as the attack came.

"Two strikes!" She felt the two hits stab her midsection and close off her chakra to that spot. She knew it was going to get bad if the rest of his attacks hit and focused on her hands forming a small oblong ball of chakra.

"Four strikes!" Her hands drew and arc through the path of his attack deflecting his attack off course with a thin thread of chakra.

"Eight strikes!" Aiko's hands increased exponentially, along with his speed increases, diverting the attacks right as they came and managed to settle in and finish her field of protection

"Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshou." Hinata's personally invented jutsu was completely blocking out his attacks.

"64 strikes." All hits managed to miss their target leaving the both of them panting and they stopped their jutsus.

"This generation is something else." Hiashi commented with a tiny smile, realizing that they should have let the Hyuuga choose outside of their clan after all, the dilution of the byakugan they all feard was nothing to worry about.

"You're not bad." Kaito commented while Aiko grinned.

"I know because my parents are awesome."

"Heh, not awesome enough." He replied, causing her to attack ferociously to shut the boy's mouth.

"Hakkeshou Kaiten" Kaito spun around, effortlessly blocking her attacks with chakra, ending with a grin, knowing he had trumped her attack.

"He can do Kaiten as well?" Hinata asked, knowing that Aiko didn't have a jutsu to combat it yet.

"I've only seen your twin lion fists make it past kaiten and I doubt something that difficult can be done by her.

"Honestly she hasn't completed anything to combat kaiten yet, but she is Naruto's daughter and still has something she wanted to show us." She reminded, knowing that her little daughter inherited Naruto's tenacity and ability to astonish with his unpredictability.

Aiko attacked again striking forward and jumped back as she started seeing charka pulse from all his tenketsu. Holding her right hand out to the side, she grasped her wrist with the left hand. Her brows furrowed in absolute concentration upon the upturned palm.

"Kaiten" the chakra bubble formed as Aiko looked started running at him with her hand still held open. A faint blue burst from her palm causing Naruto's eyebrows to rise up.

"Hinata?" He questioned. She returned the question with a grin.

"She is yours after all."

The chakra in her hand started to form and spin violently before it stabilized into a perfect sphere.

"Rasengan!" She struck the chakra bubble with the sphere, tearing through the chakra, but the rotation sent her spinning. She twisted on the ball of her foot and timed her own spin in the direction of the kaiten. When she came back around, the rasengan was still in her hand and slipped through the part of the field she weakened earlier and slid inside the shell. When she was within the Kaiten, she smashed the ball into the ground shredding the tatami mat and proving the power of her attack would have easily defeated her opponent, calling an end to the match.

"Alright, enough." Hiashi declared after seeing the aftermath in his training room. Aiko looked up and wiped the sweat from her brow and ran towards the group.

"Dad, did you see your jutsu?" She squealed while jumping into his arms.

"It was awesome sweetie. Now I think we've damaged this place enough. Do you want to see your new home?" She nodded wildly with a wide grin.

"Then can we get some ramen?" She begged.

"I think we should stay in tonight, it's going to rain soon." Hinata suggested, not wanting to spoil her daughter. Aiko's little face dropped and she pouted.

"Now don't _you_ get any ideas." She ordered the blonde. "You can't be spoiling her all the time."

"Hey I didn't say anything." Naruto defended, acting all innocent.

"I knew what you were thinking." She reminded while lightly poking his arm with a finger. She turned to her family and bowed lightly.

"Please excuse us father; nii-san. We'll have to talk some more later." Once excused, she led her group back out of the Hyuuga estate. Aiko was still pouting while following her, trying to show her dissatisfaction. She looked back at her daughter's face, then to the girl's father.

"Naruto-kun…" she called out to get his attention. She then gave a pointed nod towards their daughter, silently telling him that it was his job to confront her attitude this time. He gave a depressed sigh before squatting down next to her.

"Aiko-chan, you can't get everything you want in life." He tried to reason. She just turned away, still pouting and refusing to move.

"Ok fine… pouting girls don't get their very own bedroom." He saw her eyes start to light up and he knew he got her attention. Standing up he walked up to Hinata's side and urged her to start walking.

"Am I doing this right, Hinata?" He whispered to her.

"There never is a right way, just continue loving her and it will work out." Almost like an answer to her response, the 7 year old squeezed between them and took each of their hands in hers.

"Do I really get a room all to myself?" She asked, all signs of her disappointment gone.

"You sure do; a nice big one." He assured, matching her wide grin. She paused for a moment while thinking.

"If I have my own room… Where is mom going to sleep?" She asked him. He looked a little nervous while Hinata snickered.

"Yeah, Naruto-kun… Where am I going to sleep?" She asked in a very teasing manner.

"Well…" He started while trying to figure out exactly how to put it. "Since I promised you your own room, I guess that means she'll have to share with me. It a sacrifice I'll make just for you"

"Oh, ok." She replied, without knowing the real purpose behind them sharing a room.

"So I take it _that_ topic hasn't come up yet?" He asked. Hinata smiled and shook her head.

"Nope, saving it for you to explain." His face dropped and really didn't want to have to go through all that. He was all of six when he learned about the differences between man and women and it screwed up how he would view people ever since then. That was something he didn't want for his girl.

He looked up from his musings and saw his home starting to come into view. The three of them stepped through the gate at the Hokage's residence and Aiko's eyes went wide as she looked at the size of the building.

"We're going to live here?" She asked with an airy, astonished voice.

"Yep, this is home." A loud crack of thunder roared in the atmosphere, causing her to jump. She started to feel small droplets of water splashing on her small shoulders as it fell from the sky.

"Here it comes!" Naruto shouted before grabbing his girls' hands and making a dash for the residence portion of the complex. They all jumped through the front door right as a massive sheet of rain passed overhead, drenching to whole village. A flash of lightning lit up the darkening sky right as he shut the door. After turning on the lights, both Hinata and Aiko looked stunned while they looked over their new house.

* * *

The main room was large and spacious with minimal furniture for the size. Off to the right was the large restaurant grade kitchen with a bar style eating area separating it from the main room. Off to the left was the rather large hallway which led to the two bedrooms and the bathroom.

"Well, what do you think?" He asked after they had a chance to take it all in.

"Where's my room?" Aiko inquired while still hopping up and down with excitement.

"Ok, follow me." Naruto led the way through the hallway and stopped outside of the first room on the right. He set the large pack he had been carrying, for quite some time, down outside the room and then opened the door.

"Here it is." He announced. She took off around him and pounced on the small bed, rolling in the plush bedspread. Her rolling around was interrupted when there was a knock at the front door. She bolted straight up before taking off towards the door.

"Ramen!" She shouted, having seen everything in and around the house. Hinata and Naruto looked at each other before following her to the door. The little girl opened the door and a drenched guy in a bandana stepped into the house out of the rain.

"Ko-san." Hinata greeted with a kind smile.

"Hinata-sama, I'm so glad you're safe." He looked down at the small girl looking directly at the large case he was carrying while licking her lips.

"Hiashi-sama asked me to bring you guys this." He held up the large box and handed it to Naruto before turning back and headed out the door.

"Great, now my father's going to spoil her." Hinata commented while following the girl chasing the ramen.

"Well, isn't that what a grandpa is supposed to do?" He replied while setting out the meal.

"I Guess." She gave in and sat in a chair, pulling some ramen in front of her since the other two were already past their 'thanks for the food' and chowing down.

Once they finished, they all had to take turns cleaning up and prepare for bed. Part of that process required the clone, Naruto sent out earlier, returning, bringing with it the knowledge of the day. With the clone now released, Naruto had to reflect on the repercussions of his sudden departure, which surprisingly was quite little compared to what he thought it would be.

"Aiko-chan, time for bed." Hinata called out, gaining a groan from her daughter and pulling Naruto from his reflection. They all ventured into the girl's room and tucked her in.

"Good night sweetie." He called out as he headed towards the door.

"Goodnight dad." She called back before they shut the door to her room.

"Time for bed Hinata." Naruto mentioned while hugging her from behind. He kissed her neck eliciting a series of giggles from her as they headed into their room. She shrieked as she was playfully thrown backwards onto the bed with him quickly joining her after flipping the lights off. He pinned her to the bed and slowly kissed her lips as her arms wrapped around his neck pulling him closer. Suddenly a bright light flashed through the window, quickly followed by a loud crash of thunder. When the bedroom door started opening they both sighed and rolled to the side.

"Mom?" Called out a tiny voice.

"Yes darling." She replied, knowing what she wanted

"Can I…" Apparently he father knew what she wanted as well.

"Sure." He answered before she could finish her question. Their little daughter then jumped onto the bed and nestled herself between the two of them under the covers.

"Feel better Aiko-chan?" He asked, receiving a small grunt in reply.

"Maybe tomorrow?" Hinata asked longingly, hoping for their event to go much further than it did after having been deprived of eight years' worth of it.

"Maybe…" He replied, having the exact same feelings as her, before snuggling in with his girls and quickly falling asleep, despite the loud, flashy rumblings of the storm outside.

* * *

When morning came around, Naruto woke as he finally gave into the light assaulting his senses from the bedroom window. His eyes flickered open revealing an empty bed when he swore he had two of the most special girls in his life the night before. He pulled himself from the comfy bed and sleepily stumbled out the door into the main room where he was glad to see Hinata. She was sitting silently while reading a book when his presence lifted her eyes to him.

"Morning Hinata."

"Good morning Naruto-kun." She replied while setting down the book. He walked behind her and kissed her neck while holding his hands on her hips, earning a gentle moan. He paused and looked over her shoulder at the book she was reading and grinned.

"Do you like that book?" He asked, recognizing it as one of the few in his own book collection.

"Yes, it is actually my favorite." She commented while looking at the title again The Princess and the Toad.

"What's your favorite part?" He wondered while sitting down beside her.

"All of it. It has so many parallels to my own life, it is like the author understands the hardships we face, and it is so raw and filled with emotion."

"Come on, Hinata, there must be at least one thing that stands out." She thought for a moment before replying with a gentle smile.

"I really like how the princess was able to see what no one else could in the toad who wanted his town to remember who he was and the pride she felt when the curse was lifted and he transformed in front of the town's very eyes. He showed them all since the strong handsome man standing before them was their beloved hero that they lost many years before." She wiped a small tear from her cheek before continuing.

"I always cry every time I get to the end of the book and I realize that it comes to and end just when the hero turned to the princess and asked her to marry him and it just ends after she said yes. I just feel like there is so much more that could be written about them. Like did he ever get the village's recognition, or did the princess's over bearing father even allow her marriage to him? I waited and waited for a sequel…" She wiped another small tear from her face from her emotional rant.

"Why did the author leave it like that?" She asked while still pondering the ending.

"Well…" Naruto started while flipping through the book and stopping at the ending and read it over once more just to be sure he remembered it correctly.

"I'm pretty sure it was because the second part wasn't complete yet." He suggested which of course was obvious since there wasn't a second one out.

"No not that Naruto-kun… I mean why did this book end with the proposal and not at a more complete spot?"

"Because…" He set the book down and looked towards the closest window and saw the trees dancing in the calm breeze. "Because it would have really sucked to end it with '_and one night after a_ _heated night of wonderful and crazy hot sex the princess ran away from the village without telling anyone leaving the hero heartbroken and he vowed to search for her till his last dying breath. The end_."

"Huh?" She questioned with a puzzled look. His long winded reply left her confused at what that had to do about the story.

"Read the dedication; the publishers couldn't include it in the final for obvious reasons." She quickly paged to the front pages of the book and started at blank pages.

"This one is at the back." She then turned to the back and her eyes widened with the sudden arrival of tears trickling down her cheeks.

_To my real life princess: _

_They all see me as a hero now like you always did._

_I'm Hokage, Hinata; come home._

"Awfully cheesy, huh?" He commented, with an embarrassed look while his weak chuckle faded out. Without a moment's noticed, he was getting attacked with gentle arms wrapping around him.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun…" She apologized while sniffling. She held him tightly, drenching his shirt with her tears until she looked up at him. "It was a little cheesy though." She joked while laughing through her tears.

"Yeah, laugh it up…" He replied as he gently tapped her nose teasingly. He looked around the room before looking back at her.

"I could have written a continuation of the icha icha series describing a few nights with you." Her face grew a brilliant shade of red and she quickly shoved him away from her while she tried to calm down at the suggestion of having that published.

"So where's Aiko-chan?" He finally asked, changing the subject from where it was.

"She's playing in her room."

"Hmmm; after I get cleaned up, I think we should bring her by the academy and get her registered before the graduation tests next month. She's a lot better ninja at her age than we were so she'll pass with ease."

"I don't know… Isn't she a little young to be genin?" She was worried that her little girl would be jumping into rough battles like she had been and could only image it going bad, making her very reluctant.

"Kakashi was only six when he became chuunin." Naruto offered up

"Yeah, but…" Naruto clasped his hand over her small palm and gave a reassuring smile.

"I'm Hokage, I could always stick her on 'D' rank missions forever. Besides, I think it would be good for you as well. You've done such a wonderful job raising her on your own; it's about time you let the rest of us help raise her." He watched as her furrowed brow faded back in to her usual calm visage.

"Well, ok." She finally gave in. Seeing that that was decided quickly, he decided to make just one more suggestion, something he really thought was compatible with her personality.

"Have you ever given any thought on having your own team?" She was astonished at his suggestion and it clearly showed.

"I… I don't think…"

"You'd be great at it. You taught Aiko-chan the rasengan having only ever seeing it be used. And just if you're wondering; I won't be able to give you Aiko-chan's team." It was an interesting proposal and the more she thought about, the more it seemed to intrigue her. Knowing that she never really liked having to hurt people, the idea of helping the next generation really seemed fitting. Her small pink lips started to curl up at the corners while imagining what it would be like

"Well… I guess I could try." She finally relented. After speaking the confirmation she seemed to gain an excited glow about her.

"Good, I'll get it all set up. Also there are some things at my office that I need you to sign."

"Really, what?"

"Umm, nothing much… Just a mission affidavit, active duty notification, residency change form, birth certificate, marriage license… you know normal stuff." She grinned and placed her hands on his neck and forcefully brought him down to her height so she could reach his lips for a much deserved kiss. Slowly she pulled away with satisfaction in her eyes; she wouldn't ever get enough of that.

"I'll make breakfast, go get ready." She urged him after rising from her daze. She also wanted to hurry since she was looking forward to getting those pieces of paperwork finished.

* * *

Once they were prepared for the day, they sat down for breakfast as a family. Both Hinata and Naruto had always dreamed of living like that, and now it was everything they imagined. As soon as they cleaned up after their meal, the three of them headed up the private staircase which led directly into his office. Naruto cautiously opened the door and was glad to see no one in there waiting for them yet, causing Hinata to stifle a giggle.

"What?" He whispered in defense. "I need to get a clone in here as soon as possible before everyone starts showing up or I'll never get out of here." A clone soon appeared and took his position behind the large wooden desk and pulled out the small stack of paper and a pen. Naruto grabbed the paperwork and presented them to his soon to be wife. She glanced though them and paused on the birth certificate.

"You're giving Aiko-chan my family name?" She questioned while being confused about the decision.

"Well, just look at her, she's a Hyuuga no matter how you spin it. Besides if a girl with those eyes show up with my name, everyone will know that she's ours, it be a dead giveaway. This wouldn't be a problem for normal people, but we have to think of her safety. I can't have my family threatened because I'm the Hokage." She nodded in understanding. He was right on all accounts, but she was still looking forward to being branded as 'his' in name as well as soul.

"I guess just knowing its official will work for me." She commented while signing the documents. Once the documents were signed and she filled in Aiko's June 10th birthday spot Naruto took them to the desk and stamped them all with the official seal.

"Congratulations, Hyuuga Hinata; we're married." He declared while picking up his daughter. "And you, my little sweetie, can now call yourself Hyuuga Aiko."

"Hyuuga?" She asked, trying to get used to the name.

"Yep, everyone you see with eyes like yours and mom's are Hyuuga and part of your family."

"Cool, so Kaito-kun is family too?" She inquired, having remembered the boy who she spared with the day before.

"Yes Aiko-chan he's your cousin." Hinata ensured. Naruto set the girl down and waved to his clone before sneaking down his private staircase and out the side door before anyone could see them escape.

* * *

The three made it to the academy and looked over the building. Even though it was a completely different building than they knew previously, it still brought back a flurry of memories for the couple. Since it was still quite early in the morning, as the kids were still filing in and Naruto got a big grin on his face with the extra time they had.

"You're not are you?" Hinata questioned when she saw that smile which always led to only one outcome. She shook her head and knowingly followed him. Although she would never admit it to anyone, she did like how clever he was during all those times.

He stepped into a classroom and snickered as an eraser fell from the sky. He leaned forward, causing it to miss his head and he angled his body so it landed perfectly in his hand held open by his waist. He flicked the eraser up from behind him and over his head, only for it to land easily in his other hand held in front. Looking over at the desk, he grinned at the picture perfect visage of himself sitting at the desk with his feet propped up leisurely on the desk. The surprise that spread across the disguised kid was just priceless until it puffed away into the vision of a scared kid scrambling back to his seat. He was expecting a serious reprimand from the leader of the village and cringed at his desk while the others in the classroom watched in interest as to what the Hokage would do.

"Now I don't condone this behavior." He started out seriously in a commanding tone. "But… he whispered quietly… let me show you how a pro does it." Hinata took Aiko to the front corner, away from the door, and held her by the shoulders in front of her.

"What's dad doing?" She whispered felling that the atmosphere called for quiet.

"Just watch quietly and never do anything like it." She told her.

They watched as the Hokage hung a bucket of water from the ceiling then propped up the eraser on the ledge of the door. He then took a small piece of string and tied it to the eraser and then attached it to a small explosive tag which was stuck to the bottom of the bucket. He then dashed to the desk and sat just like the previous kid did. After it was set, he held his finger across his lips to shush the giggling kids who were anxiously awaiting their teacher. After about a minute, the scarred chuunin stepped in and the eraser thumped him on the head.

"Ha, ha, ha, Iruka-sensei." He shouted in a childish like manner, with the rest of the class giggling and snickering. Iruka, of course, was expecting the eraser and snagged it out of the air on the rebound with his out stretched hand.

"Cho!" He growled and cocked back his hand to throw the eraser until he heard a sizzling sound above him. He looked up just to see the tag detonate and drop a deluge of water right on his upturned face. He sputtered and spat out some water before turning to the person in the desk, trying to ignore the chorus of laughter. He stomped up to the laughing blonde with rage on his face.

"CHO! Get into the hallway!" He ordered angrily.

"But Iruka-sensei…" Cho whined from his seat in the back of the class, causing Iruka to fall into a double take and started sputtering incoherently.

"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto started between fits of laughter. "I'd like for Aiko-chan to join your class." He held out his hand in the direction of a smiling woman and a younger giggling version of her standing in front.

"Class." Naruto announced, making the noise dwindle. "I'd like you to meet your new classmate who just transferred in: Hyuuga Aiko." He motioned for the girl to join him.

"Hello…" she greeted with a small smile and a shallow bow. "I'm Hyuuga Aiko, its nice meeting you all."

"Alright Aiko-chan… Take that open seat." Naruto told her.

"Ok." She chimed and ran to the back with a grin. At this time Iruka finally came out of his internal fit and noticed the woman in the corner.

"Hinata?" He asked, having not seen her in so many years, yet she didn't even change one bit.

"Hello Iruka-sensei. Take good care of her." She requested in a quiet and gentle voice.

"Yeah." He mindlessly agreed. The two started walking out of the class with Naruto waving at the kids who were trying to get his attention. Iruka then fully came out of it and threw the eraser as hard as he could at the blonde. It was thrown with such force and speed that it seemed to disappear from sight, only to reappear in the hand of the Hokage.

"Just checking." Iruka replied with a much more relaxed look on his face. "Alright class! This is now a Class A secret. No repeating of anything that happened here or you will all fail the genin exam!" He announced to the class which was followed by dissatisfied groans, soon followed by the shutting of the classroom door. Iruka knew he had to put a lid on that event before he became the laughing stock of the school.

"So, Aiko-chan; why don't you come up here and tell us about yourself, like the things you like and future dreams."

"OK." She stood up and walked to the front of the class. "Let's see… I like Ichiraku's Ramen and sparing and for the future…um… I'm going to be Hokage!" Iruka looked at the grinning girl as she headed back to her seat.

'_No… it couldn't…'_ He mused to himself. Her choice of likes and the color of her clothing; it was difficult to ignore the similarities.

"You can't be Hokage." Shouted one of the boys in her class as she walked by.

"Why not?" She asked, genuinely wondering why.

"Not just anyone can be Hokage." He countered, gaining Iruka's attention.

"Now I hope you didn't forget the class on the Rokudaime Hokage. Everyone said he'd never be Hokage and he proved them wrong." He reminded, in hopes that they'd drop it. Naruto's dream was the butt of everyone's jokes until he saved the village, and then they started to see the light. Had they all accepted the possibility earlier on, he could have had a better life, something everyone deserves to have without being teased… a dream.

"But wasn't Naruto-sama's dad the Yondaime Hokage? And wasn't he also taught by the legendary sannin Jiraiya-sama? That wouldn't make him very normal." Another kid reasoned, which Iruka was having trouble to come up with a counter for.

"Really!?"Aiko asked while lighting up. "I didn't know grandpa was Hokage too."

"Your grandpa couldn't have been Hokage, you're a Hyuuga from the main house." Taunted yet another boy who was proud to know almost everything there was to know about the clans in Konoha.

"He can too." She argued, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Now settle down." Iruka ordered to no avail as the kids started to get more rambunctious.

"Well, if you think you know so much…" Started the first boy, as he grabbed a set of flash cards with just the pictures of Hokages on one side and their real names on the other. He set them out in front of her without any order.

"There; if you can show me which Hokage is your grandfather _and _have proof of it; I'll eat my shoe." He wagered, knowing that it was a sure thing and he'd never have to back up his word. Even though Iruka had lost control of his class, this trail of information was starting to get interesting to the chuunin instructor, so he got just close enough to see what she'd do. Wondering if that incredibly insane thought he had was true.

"Well, I've never seen a picture of him." She commented to her classmates she looked down at all her choices and smiled when she saw two that stood out to her and pulled them to the side.

"This one is dad, so this must be grandpa." She announced happily after making her choices. Iruka's jaw nearly hit the floor.

'_That little… I guess Hinata really did get to him.'_ He chuckled in his mind.

"LIAR!" The boy shouted, stating the arguing fit.

"CLASS!" Iruka shouted over them, wanting to end the start of something ugly. His booming voice caused his students to flinch. "Let's review to our lesson from yesterday."

"But Iruka-sensei, she's lying." He protested

"I am not!" She shouted, almost starting to cry from the accusations.

"Prove it!"

"I will! After class behind the school! And bring ketchup for your shoe!" The class finally calmed down after the argument and Iruka was able to continue the lessons like usual.

* * *

"Any where you'd like to go Hinata?" Naruto asked while they were walking down the street holding hands, having left the academy moments before.

"Well…" He looked down at her and saw a look unlike he had ever seen before grace her face. Her face was slightly flushed a rosy pink while she held her bottom lip between her teeth while pondering how to vocalize what she wanted. Somehow the sheer innocence she was displaying with just a light sprinkle of hunger evident on her visage brought something animalistic to the surface and she didn't actually have to say anything.

"I like your thinking, but we need to take one stop first." He suddenly stopped outside a good sized house and knocked on the door.

"Naruto-kun?" She started to question him until the door opened, revealing a set of brown eyes hiding behind a pair of reading glasses. Her blonde hair waved in the gentle summer breeze while she looked down at the persons on her step.

"Hinata; I'm glad you're back." Tsunade declared. Before Hinata could say a word the Godaime grabbed her in a strong hug. "You have no idea how much he missed you." She whispered to the young woman. Tsunade didn't let a soul know what she figured out not more than a month after Hinata left. Once she did, it was just too obvious with how Naruto was acting, that it could really only be because they were involved with each other. She finally released the Hyuuga from her grip and looked at the two standing next to each other.

"You two look great together… Now what brings you here?" She asked

"Well, baa-chan… I wanted to invite you over for dinner so you could meet our daughter." Tsunade's voice stumbled with her answer after hearing that bit of news.

"Your… w… what? How?" Naruto was just about to open his mouth when Hinata interrupted.

"No." She simply told him with a pointed glare.

"But Hinata, it would have been the third time this month that it was set up so perfectly." He whined childishly.

"I promise I'll make it up to you." She seductively promised, raising Tsunade's eyebrow in a knowing manner.

"Were you guys headed somewhere?" She asked with a smirk.

"Uh…" Naruto started while uncharacteristically gaining slight color on his cheeks. "Since Aiko-chan is at the academy… We were going home to… catch up."

"Catching up… I see… That might take a while."

"I hope so…" Hinata mentioned while turning a dark red color, knowing that they all knew what the subject was.

"Well don't let me stop you. I'll see you at 6 then?"

"OK see you then." Naruto agreed, wanting to hurry back home. The moment the door shut, they were gone.

* * *

"Hey Hinata…" Naruto started when the door shut behind them at their home. He turned and was surprised when he was playfully tackled to the ground. She pinned his shoulders on the hardwood floor, straddling his hips, and was treating him to the fire of her lusty lips. His strong arms rose up and grabbed her waist, feeling her soft body through her clothes while melting from her heated menstruations. She rose from the kiss and grabbed his wrists, pulling them from her body and pinned them above his head. She pulled open his shirt and slowly ran her soft hands down the ripples and contours of his muscular chest. She let out a satisfied sigh as she laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart thumping rhythmically.

Hinata let out a loud squeal when her human sized pillow suddenly moved under her. She was quickly thrown over his shoulder while she continued screaming.

"Put me down!" She squealed while kicking and screaming playfully. Her erratic movements threw her off balance and she started toppling over until a hand caught her inner thigh and hindered her movement. She gave a low grunt and went limp on his shoulder.

"Looks like that spot still works." Naruto chuckled while still gently pressing on a pressure point high on her inner thigh.

"N…N… Na…Nar… Naruto!" She shouted through labored pants. Her face was flushed and her hips started to wiggle as he carried her off to their room. She whimpered when his thumb slipped higher while tossing their bedroom door shut with a bang…

* * *

(Hours later... many noisy hours later)

"Where are you taking us?" Whined one of the boys following the determined little Hyuuga girl.

"Where do you think?" She snapped. "We're going to the Hokage residence."

"Aren't you taking this joke too far?" Asked the second one, as the three boys paused outside of the gate into the Hokage residence. The small boys gingerly stepped through the gate, cautious on their intrusions since they weren't supposed to be there unless summoned, and you never wanted to be summoned unless you were receiving a mission. All three of them would jump at any sound, including the birds squawking in a nearby tree.

"We're going to get into trouble." Spoke the third once, which was the most skittish of them all.

"If you run now, then I win and you'll have to eat your shoe like you promised." She warned.

"Nuh, uh. You're still a liar until we have proof." The first one reminded. "Besides a little girl like you couldn't make us do anything; let's go guys, our parents would let us have it if they knew we snuck in here." He turned and started walking away when he felt his collar get yanked hard, sending him to the ground on his back. He looked up and saw Aiko glaring at him with fire in her eyes.

"I am not a liar!"

"Are too!" he shouted back while grabbing a handful of sand off the ground. He sat up and flung the sand in her face. With her temporarily blinded, he stood up and knocked her to the ground and glared at his friends.

"Don't just stand there get her!" He screamed. With his attention focused elsewhere, he never saw the girl tackle him back to the ground. The boy started yelling for help when she started overpowering him.

"Aiko-chan!" boomed a loud commanding voice who was by her side nearly instantaneously. Naruto nearly laughed out loud when he finally saw that the boy was gagging on his own shoe, which was still attached to his foot and wedged in his mouth thanks to a little dark haired girl. Grabbing his daughter by the back of her shirt, he lifted her off of the boy, much to his relief.

"Put me down dad, he deserves it!" She protested while still grabbing at the now crying boy.

"Enough." He commanded in a low and serious voice, causing her to stop struggling.

"It's Hokage-sama!" Shouted the boys in unison. They all turned and scattered, scraping at the ground as they stumbled and fell in an attempt to leave faster than physically able.

"Aiko-chan…" He started, in a much friendlier voice. He saw her grimy face with sand stuck to her cheeks from her eyes watering to get the irritating substance out of her eyes.

"Let's get you cleaned up, then you can tell your mom and me what happened, then we'll deal with your punishment."

"But Dad…" She whined while he pulled her towards their home.

"I don't want to hear it." He told her, reinforcing his previous standing on the matter despite wanting to coddle her.

He pulled her in the door and the whining continued causing Hinata to look up from the dinner she was starting to prepare. The little girl had her usual unhappy pout on her face when she was coaxed towards the bathroom to get cleaned up.

"But…" She protested, wanting to get a word in.

"Go clean up Aiko-chan." He told her firmly.

"Meanie!" She shouted and stomped off towards the bathroom.

"What was that about?" Hinata asked.

"She was fighting with one of the more difficult boys from academy." He told her. Then he leaned in next to her ear.

"It was actually comical; she was making him eat his shoe." He whispered with a grin. She smirked before catching it and wiping it off her face.

"You know; all she got from me was her looks… everything else is all you." She informed him. When she saw his blank expression, she just had to share a grin of her own.

"This time I wish I didn't get all the credit." He joked, getting the desired giggle from his wife.

"So how do we punish her? I never had real parents." She continued smiling and kissed his cheek before tending to dinner again.

"I think it is time for you to learn. I know it's a little much to take in but you have a daughter now. I know you can handle it."

"If I screw up badly, will you bail me out?"

"Only if you _really_ screw it up." At that point, Aiko came stomping back from washing up with a clean face and full of attitude..

"Ok Aiko-chan… You can tell us what happened now." After she explained to them about the day's events, Naruto started to ponder the situation. What she did was definitely within her rights, but fighting within your own village isn't condoned. As a future ninja, you needed to get along with all your comrades whether you like them or not. He had to figure out a proper punishment for her that would illustrate that aspect..

"Aiko-chan… You do know that fighting in the manner that you did was wrong no matter the reason behind it"

"Yeah, dad, but I couldn't let him call me a liar. I bet you didn't let anyone call you one." Naruto's face saddened and he made his way to a chair and motioned for her to follow.

"Let me tell you a little story… When I was growing up I was called many things much worse than a liar because everyone was afraid Kurama would get out, or that I was Kurama reincarnated. I had things thrown at me and I was chased away from stores and restaurants. I wasn't even allowed to play with other kids because their parents were afraid of me. Throughout all this I was never tempted to attack or hurt anyone; except when it was protecting someone else, I wouldn't even protect myself. Only when you are protecting someone should you give it your all, so I don't want you fighting for something as insignificant as you did. Of course you can fight during training when you're supposed to."

"But I was so mad." She defended.

"It is ok to get upset, but it is not ok to let it consume you. You need to learn to walk away."

"I don't like it, but I guess I understand." Naruto chuckled at his daughter, she truly did act so much like him.

"I didn't like it either, but as long and you get it…" He stood up and pointed her to her room.

"Now go to your room until dinner."

"But…" She protested before she saw a look from her mother and got the feeling that she was getting off easy and hurried to her room.

"So?" The blonde asked. He eagerly waited for his wife's evaluation of his fathering while moving to help her in the kitchen.

"You're getting there." She responded. She smiled when she looked over at his dissatisfied look and kissed his whiskered cheek when she passed by.

"You're mean." He whined back with a fake pout on his face, mimicking his daughter's earlier actions.

"Watch it mister, or I'll send you to your room." She teased with a wooden spoon waving in the air before turning back to her preparations. She sharply inhaled a gasp of air when she suddenly felt his arms enclose her waist from behind. His warm breath tickled her ear and made the hairs on her neck stand up.

"As long as you're with me, I'll go to my room any time." He whispered. She started leaning on him, basking in the closeness she let out a sigh as he kissed her jaw line and groaned when he stopped.

"I think…" He started in the soft manly voice she loved so much. "…something is burning." Her eyes flicked open and a small yelp escaped the throat at the sight of the smoke rising from the stove. She hurriedly ran around the kitchen and rescued dinner without a moment to spare. He chuckled at the sight, earning him a glare and a slight growl. He raised his hands in defeat and left the kitchen to her so he didn't distract her anymore. Once out of her way, he took a seat in the main room and started reading through some mission reports while he waited until a knock resounded from the wooden door.

"It's open!" He shouted, not rising from his seat so he could finish up his reading. He glanced at the door and saw his predecessor step over the threshold. She smiled and immediately inhaled the wonderful scent of what Hinata was cooking.

"It smells wonderful." She commented while shutting the door behind her.

"Thank you." Called out the soft voice of the dark haired chef.

"I always thought her cooking was great before but, whoa, what a change." Naruto commented from his seat.

"Then I guess I should be in for a treat… Need any help Hinata?" She asked while stepping into the kitchen and setting down the bottle she brought over for the occasion.

"Sure…" She responded while eyeing her husband. "… It would be great to get _proper_ help."

"You didn't mind my help at the time." He interjected, recalling the earlier event. Hinata started turning a deep shade of red as she continued her cooking.

"There's a time and a place." She called back making Tsunade start laughing at their strange conversation.

A few more minutes passed and dinner was complete. The couple called Aiko out from her room and sat down to the wonderful meal set before them. Tsunade took to the little girl quite well since her personality was reminiscent of the young Naruto and her little brother Nawaki. After dinner Tsunade set off for home, leaving the small family to prepare for bed and the next day to come.

* * *

NEXT!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chaotic Dynamics Final Chapter**

* * *

"Alright class!" Called out Iruka, calming down the group of over excited academy students. "This is your first opportunity to test out and become a genin. You will have more opportunities in the future, so don't get down when you fail. You are all still very young and only 1 in every 100 students test out at this age… Shall we begin?"

He, and two other chuunin instructors, called out one student after another into the private testing room, giving them all an equal opportunity to pass based on their skill and understanding in the ninja arts. Within in a minute, the students started filing back into the classroom with defeat on their faces as fast as they were called out. It was at this point when the students realized that it wasn't easy to become ninja and some started to entertain the notion of quitting altogether seeing that the bar to pass was quite high.

"Hyuuga Aiko." Called one of the chuunin proctors from the door. The little dark haired, orange clad girl jumped up with a grin and hustled towards the exam room. Iruka smiled when she entered the exam room, catching the eyes of the other chuunin.

"A Hyuuga in orange?" Questioned one of them in a whisper, not believing the sight. They did hear rumors about her, but had yet to witness the phenomenon.

"Start with a henge." Iruka requested. Aiko thought while tapping her lips with her finger. They saw her smile and crouch to the ground before performing the proper hand signs.

"Henge!" She shouted, erupting in a plume of smoke. As the smoke settled, they all saw red fur covering a small, almost human sized nine tailed fox.

"Roar!" called out the distinct little girl's voice making the chuunin stifle a chuckle seeing the kyuubi roaring like a little girl.

"Ok, bushin." The little red fox cocked its head until a sudden plume of smoke erupted next to her, revealing an identical fox. The two them playfully chased each other around in circles in the room while the proctors jotted down their thoughts on the test form.

"Aiko, is that a kage bushin?" Iruka asked as he just noticed the fur reacted to contact when the second fox bit a tail of the first. The two little foxes stopped and spoke simultaneously.

"Yep, dad taught me it."

"Did he tell you the danger of using kage bushin?" Asked the middle chuunin, still pondering her relation since it was still kept very quiet among the village.

"He said that I can't make more than 30 at a time or I might pass out." She replied to the wide eyes of her instructors.

"Ahem…" Iruka coughed to get the other chuunin to focus on their task. "Makes sense given who your dad is… Do you know any attack jutsu?"

"I know a few." She replied.

"Hmm…" Sounded the last chuunin "Show us your most powerful."

"As long as it isn't a fire jutsu." Iruka interjected after recalling the mistake they made years ago with the Uchiha.

"OK." She replied after canceling the clone and her transformation. She stood up from her crouch and held her right hand out to her side and grabbed her wrist with the left. She concentrated while gritting her teeth, gaining raised eyebrows from her instructors. A pool of chakra rested in her hand swirling faster and faster in a chaotic ball of spiraling chakra. The ball finally took a perfect sphere shape and shone brightly in the room to wide eyes

"Wow…" Iruka muttered for the rest of them. "… Your dad never told me you knew the Rasengan." She looked up and smiled before closing her hand and canceling the jutsu.

"Dad did say that there are some things you should keep to yourself so you can surprise the enemy." Iruka nodded in agreement and jotted in his clipboard.

"You are a brilliant girl." He announced. "Who would have thought… must have inherited that from your mom. She was outstanding in the class room but too shy to perform well in other areas." Iruka slid his chair closer to the other three so they could discuss her results.

"Who are her parents?" The middle one asked while the last one nodded, genuinely interested in the answer since they didn't recognize her as one that grew up in the area.

"I'll tell you after your decision." He informed them as to not sway their vote. The two looked at their clipboards.

"I say pass." The middle one revealed after a quick internal deliberation. Now the attention was on the last chuunin.

"She is a little childish still, but I see no reason why she can't mature on the field… Pass." Iruka smiled and nodded.

"Aiko-chan, by a unanimous vote, you pass." Iruka announced, getting a loud cheer from the girl.

"Would you like to tell your dad, or would you like me to inform the Hokage myself?" He asked while eyeing the reactions from his peers.

"I'll go tell him!" She yelled enthusiastically and ran for the door.

"Don't forget your hitai-ate!" Iruka called to her retreating form while throwing the heavy piece at the back of her head. She turned just in time to catch it and speed down the hall.

"She's the Hokage's?" The two chorused while watching her leave

"Sure is, mix the Yondaime's legacy with a Hyuuga heiress and you get something amazing." Iruka replied happily. A moment later their high spirits were interrupted by a bulky boy walking in.

"Start with a henge." The boy attempted the transformation, but only managed to change his face into Iruka's and still had his own body. The chuunin slapped his head into the palm of his hand.

"Fail." He muttered without even writing one thing down; it was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Dad!" Aiko screeched as she came crashing through the office door. She paused when she saw numerous eyes fall on her, making her realize she just barged in on a meeting. A woman with red eyes looked down at her with a kind smile, Aiko then looked at everyone thoroughly. There were 5 ninja in total, not counting the Hokage. A guy with his hair pulled up into a spiky pony tail, another man next to him, who was of rather large girth, and the last male in the group wore a frightening spandex suit and had scary huge eyebrows. The last person was standing close to the Hokage and brought a large smile to the young girl's face.

"Mom!" She shouted and dashed through the group. She proudly showed off the forehead protector, which was already tied around her neck.

"Yosh, this one is overflowing with youth!" Lee shouted, making the others wish Gai wasn't ever allowed to teach a genin team in the first place.

"Looks like your little one passed." Kurenai mentioned to her old student who was quite pleased.

"Naruto's daughter… sure to be twice as troublesome." Shikamaru added.

"Aiko-chan…" Naruto started "… These are this year's genin sensei. Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, Kurenai, and our newest jonin, Hinata.

"Really? Which team am I on?" She asked in an excited manner, nearly bouncing off the walls.

"That, my little sweetie, will be revealed tomorrow."

"Dad…" She whined in embarrassment. "I don't want you calling me that in front of other people." The Hokage just laughed at her protest and concocted something on the spot.

"Fine." He relented but then brought his attention to the older Hyuuga female next to him.

"How about you? Can I call you sweetie?" He asked teasingly

"Naruto-kun…" She protested, not wanting to show her romantic side in front of too many people.

"Fine, I guess…" He looked around the room and smirked when he realized his idea just got more devious. "Lee."

"Yes Hokage-sama." The Gai clone barked while saluting.

"You will be my sweetie from now on." He ordered with a chuckle escaping his throat.

"Yes Sir!" He replied and jumped through the air in a trajectory that would place him in the Hokage's lap.

"NO!" Hinata screamed and pushed Lee, in mid flight, sending him tumbling across the desk, flinging papers in every direction. She turned bright red from her outburst and started unconsciously tapping her fingers together.

"Aww, I never get to be anyone's sweetie." Lee whined in a defeated tone while picking himself up frm the ground. Both Naruto and Shikamaru cringed and shielded their eyes, knowing what was coming; it always ended like this...

"Dynamic Entry!"

"Gai-sensei!" Lee cried out when he saw him enter

"Lee!"

"Dad… Make it stop." Aiko pleaded as the two green colored men were now hugging. The blonde leaned over towards his daughter with an evil glare.

"This is what happens when you don't let your proud dad call you sweetie." He whispered jovially.

"Fine!" She roared back defiantly. Her cheeks puffed out while she stomped her way towards the door in a pout. "I'm going to have nightmares thanks to you." She shouted before slamming the door behind her.

"That wasn't a very 'Hokage' thing to do." Shikamaru spoke while still gazing out the nearby window.

"Well…" The Hokage spoke with a smile on his face while scratching his head. With a sudden cough, he decided to change the subject

"That's the youngest genin this year… Are you up for the task?" He asked, ignoring Shikamaru's comment.

"It will be a challenge, but no worse than raising your own."

"That's why I chose you; Kurenai-sensei." He smiled towards the red eyed jonin and handed a scroll to her and setting others upon his desk.

"Your team details are inside; train them well." He passed out the rest of the scrolls to the jonin sensei and dismissed them. The thought of a new generation of ninja brought a smile to his face as he recalled the joy he felt when he became a ninja so many years ago.

* * *

The next day Aiko stepped into the classroom, with her hitai-ate hung around her neck. Upon entering she suddenly had all eyes on her making her pause when she realized the age difference between her and the other genin.

"Hyuuga… figures." Snickered a young kunoichi as she passed. Aiko just glared at her and took up a seat in the far corner of the room.

"Class." Iruka announced while walking into the room. "You will be divided into groups of three your jonin sensei will arrive and announce who will be on their team. You are all now ninja of Konoha; protect your village with all your might."

Iruka stepped out and the class started talking amongst themselves. Moments later a tall dark haired woman stepped into the room with her red eyes surveying the class. She wore black skin tight shorts with her upper body covered in the bandage like clothing hiding most of her fishnet chainmail armor. She smiled when she saw the eyes of her own daughter squint in a cheery smile upon her arrival.

"Tanaka Touma ,Yakumo Kyosuke, and Hyuuga Aiko; follow me." Kurenai walked out of the room with a boy dressed in all black, followed by a contrasting one dressed in almost all white, with Aiko taking up the rear. They followed the quiet jonin out of the academy and to the academy training grounds.

"My name is Yuhi Kurenai. I will be your sensei until one of you becomes jonin or are reassigned to a more appropriate group. Now, each of you introduce yourself. Tell us your name, age, your reason for becoming a ninja and your fighting style."

"Tanaka Touma." Anounced a monotone voice from the boy dressed in black. Black cargo shorts, black military like shirt, even his hitai-ate was mounted on black bandana wrapped around his black hair.

"I'm 10 years old and my family moved here from Iwa after the last war to start fresh. I use mainly defensive earth style jutsu."

"Yakumo Kyosuke." Sounded off the other boy in a more friendly tone. His unruly brown spiky hair was held out of his face with the standard issue hitai-ate. His white kung fu style outfit was accentuated with black ties in front and black kanji for 'weapon' on his back.

"I am almost 10 years old. I became a ninja so I could actually use the weapons my family makes. As such I am a long range fighter like my nee-san, TenTen."

"Im Aiko, Hyuuga Aiko. I'm seven and I'm going to try and keep the title of Hokage in the family. As a Hyuuga, I know the gentle fist which makes me a short range fighter."

"I don't recall a Hyuuga ever being Hokage." Touma interjected.

"My family name is from my mom. My dad isn't Hyuuga."

"Alright, back to the team. Our team consists of our youngest genin. Usually genin are about 12 when they graduate, so you guys still have a little bit of maturing to do before you catch up with your skills. To start off we'll have team training so we can learn how to act as a team. Once I feel you guys behave well enough together, we'll start doing small missions within the village. Let's start with lunch and go from there; but you'll have to decide where to go as a team."

Now that their first task was set up, they headed out into the village while the team continued to deliberate over where to go.

* * *

"I'm home." Hinata called out as she walked through the door into her home. She unzipped her cream and lavender coat and hung it on the coat rack revealing her usual form fitting fishnet style chainmail.

"Welcome back." Naruto replied, making a bright smile spread across his wife's face.

"How is your new team?"

"They're pretty good. You set me up with a similar style of team as mine; Kiba's nephew and Shino's cousin. I'm thinking our kunoichi may be a good candidate for medic training, though."

"Hmm, that is good news. I'll let Sakura know to put her on the list of possibles."

"Sure… Is Aiko-chan home yet?"

"Not yet, Kurenai said that they would be a bit late today."

* * *

(6 months later)

* * *

"Damn it Touma." Aiko shouted while rubbing at the scratch marks on her hands. "You were supposed to follow my lead; if you didn't charge in out of formation, I wouldn't have gotten scratched by that demon."

"Just because you're the Hokage's daughter doesn't make you the leader here." He retorted unhappily. "We could always just eliminate the problem, then we wouldn't have to catch it for the 15th time already."

"That's mean Touma-kun." Kyosuke defended. "She was entirely correct, though, you fell out of position and you need to quit making a big deal about her being Naruto-sama's daughter, she is her own person."

"You are correct Kyosuke-kun." Kurenai spoke, disturbing the team argument. "Your teamwork was spot on until Touma-kun made a move too quickly, but in the end the mission was accomplished and your teamwork is on par with any team. Let's go report to the Hokage."

The team silently walked towards the Hokage tower to give their mission report, and hopefully get a new mission since it was still very early in the morning. They hurriedly made it through the halls and into the office. After giving their mission report, they were given yet another d rank mission, much to their disgust.

"Come on dad." Aiko whined. Her long dark hair was pulled into a pony tail, dancing on the back of her orange shirt emphasizing her distaste.

"You're treating us differently than the other teams! They were even allowed to take the chuunin exams while we were off chasing the same tortured cat over and over. I mean what person allows that person to even have a pet!"

"Aiko-chan…" Naruto started in a tone that told everyone exactly what was coming.

"Actually…" Kurenai interjected. "I will have to agree with her, you have been treating this team differently from the others. We have completed over 150 D rank missions; I think you may be letting your personal feelings influence your judgment."

Naruto sat behind his desk thinking about what she said and couldn't figure a way out of it since he knew without a doubt that he was treating them differently. He just wanted to keep her away from danger until she was old enough, but the more he thought about it he didn't think she'd ever be old enough. Despite wanting to protect his little girl from danger, he realized that he was actually wronging her the most by being ever protective.

"You're correct, like usual." He muttered quietly. "OK, I'm going to allow all teams, from now on, to pick their own missions once a month. The decision will be up to your sensei, so I don't want to have this conversation again. Is that satisfactory?"

"That will be just fine." Kurenai relented. The Hokage presented her with a group of scrolls to which she looked through until pulling out her choice and handing it to him.

"C-rank…" He mumbled while looking at it "OK, Kurenai-sensei, your mission is approved."

"Thanks dad!" Aiko shouted. Naruto looked up with a concerned look, knowing that this mission would take them outside the safety and protection within the walls of Konoha.

"Aiko-chan, remember, it is dangerous for anyone to know who your father is, you and your team shouldn't talk about it when you venture outside the village." He reminded.

"Yeah, I know." She replied while waving him off on her way out of the office.

"So what's our mission Kurenai-sensei?" Kyosuke asked while shoving his hands into the pockets of his white jacket

"A wild animal escaped captivity and we are to subdue it and return it to the research division."

"What kind of animal, it isn't a cat is it?" Aiko wondered out loud.

"It's a stag; not to be confused with the Nara deer. It is a different breed that is being studied since it isn't native to this area."

"So we just have to take down a deer, that's easy enough." Touma scoffed while envisioning the quickest way to take care of the problem.

"It needs to be taken alive Touma-kun." Kurenai reminded, knowing his usual train of thought.

"This could be a multi-day mission, so go home and prepare. Meet me at the main gate in 30 minutes."

* * *

The team arrived within the time allotted with small packs thrown over their backs. The various packed items clunked and clanked with their steps as they set off out of the village. Not more than a few steps out of the village, and Kyosuke stopped and looked out at the towering gates. Noticing he fell back the rest of the team stopped and looked at the white clad boy.

"Whats up Kyo?" Aiko asked, being the most talkative of the group. Of course she inherited Naruto's tact in shortening names and not using honorifics. Even though Hinata taught her extensively on the subject, it just never really felt right to her, just like her father.

"Nothing really, Aiko-chan, I just… I've never really been outside of the village."

"Oh… It really isn't any different, just less people and better scenery." She replied, hoping to chear up his somber attitude.

"Tch, like someone of your upbringing would know of the outside world."

"Screw you Touma!" She shot back with anger. "I didn't even know I was Hyuuga or who my dad was until this year. I was just a girl living in Whirlpool Village having to cover my face and act blind because it wasn't safe to let people see my eyes. I may have everything I ever wanted now, but I didn't grow up that way!" She stomped ahead of the group with her slightly puffed cheeks showing her emotions openly on her face.

Kurenai nodded and smiled seeing how the little girl was quite able to stand up for herself. She did surprise her a few times when she looked at the girl, who was a mirror image of the younger Hinata and expected that personality, but got Naruto's instead. It was a very pleasant surprise since the Hyuuga family was known for their polite, stoic demeanor and rarely showed any emotion as opposed to her openly emotional self.

Touma growled and kicked at the gravel road as he resumed following the team further outside of Konoha. He mumbled a few non-descript words along the way, causing his sensei to make another mental note to keep an eye on him since he was acting way too similar to Sasuke. Luckily he didn't have revenge on his mind like the other, but was still stuck on his own superiority complex making it all the more difficult since Aiko was better, younger, and had even more potential to grow. Kurenai was sure that little girl would usher in a new generation of extremely powerful ninja, following her father.

"We will be leaving the main road here." Kurenai announced. "The stag was notice around here last night, so start looking for track or any other evidence of it being here."

"Kurenai-sensei; shouldn't we go towards the water and pick up the trail there?" Aiko asked as she was looking in the direction of water."

"Good call, how far is the water?" She asked, noticing the pointed look of the girl.

"I'm not good with distances yet, but I think it is 2 km from here."

"Really?" The woman asked with a touch of surprise. She knew Aiko's eyes were always active without showing it, but didn't know they were that well developed at such a young age. Again she found herself just going off of the developmental patters on her previous Hyuuga student.

"How well can you use your eyes?" She finally asked, needing to readjust her thoughts on her particular use of byakugan.

"Um… I don't know. I just use them. I get dizzy if I focus on too many things at one time, so I don't pay attention to my limits."

"Well when your mother was your age, she could only see about 50m around her and could only see about 1km in front if she focused. I was just trying to figure out at what point yours work."

"Ok, well mom says my eyes work better than hers currently do." To this Kurenai was intrigued even more since Hinata had been known to see close to 10km in a focused direction. "If I focus, I can see that dad is now having lunch in his office and mom is on a mission with her team ahead of us by about half a day's walk."

"You can tell who they are from that far?"

"Well, Dad has a very distinct chakra system and I can always find mom's chakra, but others are indistinguishable since I don't pay attention to other's systems that much. Also things can be blurry at those distances." The girl suddenly closed her eyes and placed her hand over her eyes and stumbled while they stepped off the main road.

"What is it Aiko-chan?" Kurenai questioned.

"I just got dizzy." She replied before shaking her head to revive herself.

"I guess even you have a weakness." Touma chided, while passing by her and taking the lead towards the desired direction.

"Come on man; why all the hate?" Kyosuke asked while nudging him on the shoulder.

"Hmpf…" was all he replied while continuing on.

* * *

Once they arrived at the water, they picked up the distinct trail of an abnormally large deer and started to follow it. The tracks continued in a perfectly straight line from the oasis gathering Kurenai's attention since animals tend to not travel straight. She filed it in her memories and continued on with the mission.

"Aiko-chan, does the trail continue on straight?"

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei." She replied, giving the jonin the status of being one of few she treated with an honorific.

"OK, we're going to speed up. Remember your tree climbing exercises and follow me." Kurenai jumped to the trees, with her team behind her and accelerated from one tree branch to another.

"Aiko-chan, let me know if the trail changes direction."

"K"

They traveled at their quickened pace until they started slowing with signs of fatigue. Noticing their reduced pace and the setting sun, Kurenai decided that they needed to stop for the night, hoping that their trail didn't go cold while they rested. They set up the tent and started a fire before eating a meal and turning in for the night.

* * *

The following morning, they hurriedly picked up camp and set out on the trail again; letting Aiko lead and set the pace since the young ones had the need to travel slower. With her in the lead, they were also sure to not lose the trail. After a few hours of traveling, Aiko slowed and positioned herself next to her teacher.

"I see the stag up ahead about 3 km."

"Ok, good job Aiko-chan. Are we catching up?"

"Yeah, we should be within 1km in about 20 minutes. Its stride has lessened in the last 4km."

"Got it. Touma-kun, stick close to Aiko-chan, and Kyosuke-kun, you're at the rear with me." With calls confirming they heard her, they separated into their positions and continued towards their target. When they got within 2 km Aiko suddenly stopped, causing the team to gather around her.

"The stag stopped." She whispered. The lowering of her voice sparked the jonin's interest.

"Is there someone out there?" She asked

"Yes, there is one person ahead and it almost looks like the stag is his pet, it is walking closer to him."

"Is that all? Can you tell if it is a ninja or just a outdoorsman?"

"I think…" She focused in the one direction and came to one conclusion. "It looks like a ninja, and mom is headed in the same direction."

"Really?" She voiced. Thinking it over there could only be one reason; Hinata's team was set to apprehend the said ninja.

"She can probably see us from here; so let's move to intercept."

Hinata saw a group heading in their direction and immediately recognized two members of the team and started to slow since they were obviously heading to intercept. A few minutes later, team Kurenai met up with team Hinata. The mother/daughter duo traded smiles but kept their distance.

"Hinata." Kurenai greeted, looking over her usual clothing from almost a decade ago which was hiding a more matured woman.

"Kurenai-sempai." She greeted in her ever polite way. "I noticed you guys were headed in our direction about 30 minutes ago. It is too much of a coincidence this far out. What's your mission?"

"We were sent to capture the stag… I take it that you are after the shinobi?" She saw the young jonin nod her head, which made everything make sense, including the straightforward trail of the stag.

"It should be a single chuunin. I don't see anyone else close, but we're still going to proceed with caution. Will you join us?"

"I believe so." Kurenai informed. "Your team can take the lead. Once the shinobi has been subdued, we will capture our target."

"Agreed…" Hinata replied, then looked over to her daughter. "Aiko-chan, can you see a chakra system in the stag?"

"Yeah, it has tenketsu too." She added

"Hinata, are you thinking that it may be a summon?"

"That is my impression." The older Hyuuga revealed. "I get the same feeling when looking at it as I so when looking at Gamakichi."

"Then we should approach with caution…"

"That is my recommendation." With a nod in agreement, the teams took off in their new formation.

"Hey Aiko-chan…" Kyosuke interrupted while matching stride with the girl.

"What Kyo?"

"Do you look like your mom did when she was young?"

"I think so, why?"

"N… No real reason." He mentioned with a slight blush across his cheeks when he realized that Aiko could grow up to look just like her mom. He quickly moved back to his position as they could nearly see the stag himself. Holding up a hand, Hinata stopped the combined team just outside of the shinobi's sight. With just a glance to her team, they moved forward and ambushed the chuunin.

"Wha…?" Sounded the chuunin when he looked up and saw a kid and small puppy launch into a spin right at him. He quickly pulled out a kunai and was in mid throw when he was restrained by a mass of insects from the Aburame. The flawlessly executed plan left the chuunin unconscious and the Stag fleeing.

"Doton: Ganchūrō no Jutsu (Earth Pillar Prison)." Touma shouted while thrusting his hands to the ground, resulting in earth pillars erupting from the ground and closing off the escape for the stag.

"Mission accomplished." He declared with a haughty smirk.

"Good job." Kurenai complimented and led her group to the cage.

"Stop!" Aiko suddenly commanded, but the warning came too late when a group of five ninja appeared in a flicker of light, surrounding both teams.

"Impressive…" The lead ninja commented. Hinata looked up, quite amazed that she wasn't able to detect them until they appeared. Looking at the plate on their head, she quickly recognized them as Kusa nin aka Grass ninja… or more importantly ex- grass ninja evident from the slash on their Hitai-ate.

"Who would have thought that this Hyuuga proof barrier could still be detected by this little one?" The five ninja drew their kunai and attacked before the Konoha ninja could regroup from the surprise attack. Hinata quickly moved forward at the one closest to her and struck with a well-placed strike to his heart, but found her palm striking a metallic object instead. The grass ninja had blocked her strike with a chkra blocking gauntlet.

"This one is jonin!" She called out, making Kurenai jump into action, knowing her students were in danger. She quickly melted into the ground and caught a unsuspecting ninja with her genjutsu induced plant, only to find Kyosuke caught in her web of deception.

"How…?" She looked over her shoulder and saw her whole team gathered together and even she couldn't tell which was her student.

"Hya!" Aiko cried while striking out at the Kyosuke standing behind her. Touma stared at her with his eyes wide, thinking she had gone mad and started attacking her comrades when Kyosuke faded into the form of one of the grass ninja. He managed to dodge Aiko's palm thrust, causing her to stumble forward and hit her on the back of the neck. Luckily, she saw it coming and was able to pitch her body to the left and redirect his hit to her shoulder and fell to the ground. The grass ninja then grabbed Touma and held a kunai to his throat. The black clad genin was shaking having never seen real battle, especially not of one at this level.

"Everyone, surrender!" He shouted, bringing all the attention to him. "All your weapons on the ground or the kid gets it." He emphasized his words by drawing a drop of blood with the point of his kunai.

"Don't…" He begged like the 10 year old that he is.

"Touma-kun…" Kurenai threw her weapons to the ground and held her hands up. Following her lead, Hinata and her team did as well. The other four grass ninja kept their distance from the group while they blocked them from getting to Touma and the fallen Aiko.

"Boss, what about this kid?" Called out the one with the hostage.

"Do what you want, he's worthless." The leader replied. The ninja grinned and pulled back the kunai and pointed the tip at the boy's throat. Right as he was thrusting forward, he felt his arm go numb and dropped the kunai.

"Good girl, Aiko-chan." Hinata breathed. There was a small window of distraction and she was able to pull a small kunai from the inside of her jacket and hide it in her hand and along her wrist.

"Kage bushin no jutsu!" Aiko quickly multiplied into 20 and lauched herself at the jonin.

"Suiton: Suiryūben (Water Dragon Whip)." The jounin countered quickly and struck down all the clones at once and knocked the original to the ground with a thud and a whine. She groaned and tried to get up, but fell back to the ground, beaten and exhausted. She rolled to her left side and saw that Touma had scurried away from the enemy.

"You little bitch!" The man yelled as he kicked the girl in the side. Hinata cringed and started to take a step forward.

"Hinata, don't be reckless. Two jonin and six genin are not a match for five jounin." Kurenai warned in a low whisper, "We need to wait for an opening to grab them and escape."

"Quit fucking around!" The leader shouted and rushed to the man's side, drawing a katana and preparing to strike the girl.

"Mind if I be reckless now?" Hinata didn't wait for a reply and charged forward. Her eyes flashed in anger, quickly flaring the byakugan. In an instant, she let the kunai loose in the direction of the man attacking her daughter.

"Jūho Sōshiken (Twin Lion Fists)." Her fists burst with overwhelming chakra and she made a dash for the other three ninja in front of her, while the one attacking her daughter paused his attack to effortlessly dodge the kunai. Her first fist just glanced off her target's chin. His eyes rolled back into his skull and he fell to the ground; even a glancing blow is formidable in her state. Hinata glanced up with a violent smirk when the kunai finally passed by the leader's head. The man ignored her glare and started to resume his attack when a brilliant flash of orange burst behind him and he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.

"T…the flaming H..Hokage." Stuttered one of the remaining ninja. He nearly passed out when he saw the flaming form of the Hokage standing behind their leader with his hand firmly gripping the kunai buried in his neck. His fear of Naruto's arrival left him dazed and open for a full on uppercut blast of Hinata's chakra infused jukun strike.

"Don't mess with my family!" She gritted through a clenched jaw and watched lights in the eyes of the ninja fade; making him the second to fall by her hand in under 5 seconds . The last two standing grass ninja were attempting to flee from the enraged woman and kage since they knew they were outclassed, but got a painful reminder of just how far outclassed they were when two giant chakra arms gripped their skulls and threw them to the ground. They impacted the ground with such force that the earth itself trembled under their bodies. The orange flames dispersed as the Hokage went to his daughter's side.

"Aiko-chan." Naruto whispered wile wiping away the red fluid at the corner of her lips. She started to groan and even before her eyes opened, Hinata was holding her in her arms.

"Aiko-chan."

"Mom, dad?" She questioned, not quite knowing why they both were there. After wiping away the tear on her cheek, Hinata looked right at her husband.

"I told you I didn't want her to go on _any_ dangerous missions."

"How was I supposed to know chasing down a deer would end in a fight with 5 jonin? Had I known those details, I wouldn't have let your team go either." The Hyuuga woman just sighed and let go of the girl who was struggling to get free from her grasp. Deep down she knew she was over reacting and despite the danger, her daughter managed to actually fight competitively with a jonin… at least for a few seconds anyways.

Hinata stood and turned towards her fellow ninja, almost forgetting they were there. Kurenai had gathered her other shaken team members by a large tree and was watching over Hinata's team while they tied up the two grass ninja who survived the battle. Touma was still shivering as he was leaning up against a tree to keep himself from falling over onto Kyosuke who had his face buried in his hands. Aiko hurriedly ran back to her team after seeing how shaken they were.

"Those guys were scary." Aiko chirped happily, having seemingly no effect from the fight. Kyosuke looked up and tried to smile after seeing her goofy grin.

"They weren't anywhere near as scary as your parents. If I had parents like that I'd never leave my bedroom closet." He teased, making himself start to smile.

"I… I… I'm g… gonna q…quit." Touma stammered from next to them, still being unable to calm down from the battle. They couldn't believe how shaken he was, especially since he seemed so calloused to the concept of killing. He continued to look down at the blood on his hands from his shallow neck wound and continued shivering.

"I'll take the survivors to Ibiki; you guys just get home safely." Naruto announced to the teams and with a proud grin towards his family, he was enveloped in his orange flaming chakra and disappeared.

"Come on Touma-kun, let's get you cleaned up." Kurenai suggested with a kind motherly smile. When they returned from cleaning up his wound, Hinata's team was preparing a meal with Aiko and Kyosuke

"After dinner, I think we should try to get closer to Konoha before setting up camp for the night." Hinata declared while they were seated and eating. With nods all around, it was decided.

* * *

"Welcome back teams." Greeted the blonde hokage with a glad grin across his face.

The teams of Hinata and Kurenai made it back to the village the following day after the attack during their missions. On their way back, Touma stayed silent and kept to himself more than previously; he didn't even manage a single snide remark the whole journey. All his team members tried to talk to him to cheer him up, but the events of the battle kept playing through his mind. He was nearly killed and it was his fault. The blood on his hands, and the seemingly uncaring ninja who didn't even flinch at the fluid which was spilled, caused his stomach to constantly churn all the way to Konoha, and the Hokage's office.

The Hokage congratulated the teams and took down the details of their missions and proceeded to dismiss them for the day. The teams filed out, still carelessly talking like nothing had occurred… They had almost been killed. Touma paused at the door until his team left.

"Hokage-sama." He spoke with his back toward the respected man.

"Shut the door." He heard in a soft voice, something he had never heard from their leader. He turned around and saw the melancholy face streaked with his signature whisker like appearance. The black clad genin opened his mouth to talk but stopped with the raised hand telling him to do so.

"Take a week off and talk it over with your parents and teammates. If at the end of the week you still wish for that, I will grant it. What you saw is the real life of a shinobi. It isn't glamorous or safe and I can only guarantee that injury and near death missions is all that lies in the future. Any time you clash with another ninja, it may be your last." Naruto signed and leaned back in his chair.

"We, as ninja, aren't as calloused as you might believe. We bear and endure horrible events like those so the villagers don't have to… It is all for the safety of Konohagakure." The Hokage gently smiled and waved him off without hearing a single word from the young genin, but the boy had plenty to think about since it seemed he knew everything Touma was thinking at the time.

* * *

Naruto sighed and shook his head upon coming to his office at the beginning of the following week. Lying upon his desk was a black bandana with Konoha's metal plate attached to it. He opened a large desk drawer and tossed the hitai-ate in with a group of others and shut the drawer. Until becoming Hokage, he never knew this side of the operation.

He had seen kids, which graduated academy ahead of him, randomly appear running the shops in the village at a later age, but never quite made the connection. Of those genin that graduated academy, only half would ever make chuunin and only a handful would be skilled enough to be jonin. As this was the case, it was always sobering when one would retire; never had he ever thought that it was an option at any point in his life.

Shortly after his arrival that morning, Kurenai showed up with the two remaining team members in her wake. She immediately saw the look on the blonde's face and knew the answer to her question she was there to ask.

"So it is settled then?" She asked, just to be positive.

"It is settled, Touma-kun is no longer a Konoha shinobi."

"What do you mean dad?!" Aiko demanded. Sure, Touma had told them about his thoughts, but she never really thought he was someone that would quit.

"Even if someone has talent in the ninja arts, it doesn't make them a talented ninja." HE opened the drawer at his side and pulled out nearly 30 hitai-ate and set them on the desk in front of his daughter and her team.

"These are all from genin who retired their post in the last year." Seeing all the wide eyes, he knew they could see the magnitude of the failure rate.

"Your team was made up of prodigies in the ninja arts. Each of you had skills more advanced than some 5 years your senior, but emotionally you are all still children too young to have to be subjected to battle, but so are all genin who graduate. Only those who can keep their wits during and after battle are allowed to remain. Even if Touma-kun had stayed, he might have been more seriously injured that next time he froze, and to tell you the truth; I could see it in his eyes after the battle that he was no longer shinobi. Had he not quit, I would have forced his resignation anyways. I just needed him to fully come to terms with it."

"So what do we do now?" Kurenai asked, seeing as how her team was now one person short.

"You will continue like you always do; like we always do when a member is lost. There are quite a few genin teams that are short members, so we will be doing cross team missions. This will allow you all to get more experience in teamwork outside of your team. This strengthens our forces more than having just one or two strong ninja. If our whole village can work as a team, we will never fall."

"When does cross team missions start?"

"Within the week, take a few days with adjusting your training between your current members and I'll see you shortly after once I figured out the teams… Dismissed."

Nodding, Kurenai led her quiet team out of the office and towards a training ground. They had lost their mid-range fighter, so it was about time to train the other two on how to fill in that gap. Her lips started curling up on one side; it was actually going to make them better ninja by branching out from their acquired style.

Kurenai's team took the Hokage's conversation to heart. Since that day, the team trained hard together and didn't attempt any dangerous missions. It wasn't that they were scared of meeting another ninja, it was that they decided, between the two of them, that until they felt their minds had matured like their skill, that they would refuse to advance in rank. Aiko heard many stories of her father's exploits in the years before her birth and imagining having to go through all that at that age, helped strengthen her resolve.

* * *

The day started out extremely hot, foreshadowing the impending scorcher for the day. A young girl stepped around the corner of the fenced in training ground with a wild grin across her face Her long hair flowed down to the hem of a short, bright orange sleeveless jacket. The jacket was zipped ¾ of the way up allowing you to see just the collar of the fishnet style chainmail which covered her pale skin down to her waist obscuring most of her midriff from easy viewing.

She had acquired a taste for more revealing clothing in the seven years of her training but still tried to keep it within reason. She adjusted her weapons pouch, strapped to her thigh over her tight fitting black capri style pants, then verified the Hitai-ate around her neck was fastened securely. She let out a large yawn while flopping down on the large park bench located by the fence. Her lavender eyes sparkled in the sun while she awaited the arrival of her sparring partner for the day.

Aiko sat thinking what it would have been like to have a sibling to teach ninja techniques to at her age, but knew it wasn't ever going to happen. She was still a single child, not because her parents didn't try because they did many, _many, _times, but because they found out after a year's worth of trying that somehow Hinata's body couldn't contain the latent chakra Aiko held in her infant form and it managed to irreparably damage her reproductive system. At first she felt bad that she was the cause, but her loving parents reassured her that even knowing the outcome, they wouldn't have changed it for the world.

"You're late." She called out without opening her eyes.

"It's disturbing to know that you can see through your eyelids." Answered a low masculine voice. One eye opened as she looked at her teammate. Although his attire hadn't changed much in the past, he now carried a large scroll with him and wore his white jacket open, revealing his flexible armor underneath it. As he walked, you could tell that the insides of his jacket were lined with small scrolls of various sizes. His green eyes looked down at his sitting teammate while he ruffled his spiky brown hair.

"It should be more disturbing to know that I can see through your pants." Kyosuke quickly turned away, earning sweet, but wild laughter in return.

"I can't see anything unless I try; you should know that Kyo." Her laughter started to die down with the fading of the color on his cheeks. You couldn't tell that he was almost 3 years older than her with the way they carried on; it was almost like she was the older one at times. Aiko stood up and started walking towards the center of the training grounds when she caught movement in the far off distance, raising an eyebrow at the revelation. Since it was just about the right time of the year; she smirked and had a wonderful idea.

"Kyo, let's start, but how about we make it a bit interesting; the loser gets treated to ramen." That bet sounded strange to Kyosuke. They have battled for that prize with the winner getting it, but never the loser. So all that he would have to do is purposely throw the practice and he'd avoid the large Ichiraku bill… It made him curious as to what she was up to, but he usually went along with it anyways.

They were facing off less than half assed for nearly 20 minutes when there was rustling in the shrubs behind the training area, alerting the white clad shinobi to the sudden presence of an intruder. Looking at his partner not move in response was all he needed to know that she set this whole match up since she saw them, 20 minutes prior. Kyosuke stepped back after dodging a painfully slow fist from Aiko and whipped a kunai at her with such a wobble that it didn't even get near her and flew towards the back of the field.

"My, my, my…" Sounded a cocky and snake like voice. They looked over and saw someone, about their age, step out from the bushes twirling the kunai which was haphazardly thrown.

"If this is evident of this year's genin, than Konoha is on a downward spiral."

"Just shut up and give him his kunai back." Aiko ordered, irritating the ninja.

"Worthless and feisty… it will be a pleasure to take you guys down." He hissed until he felt a sharp point at the back of his neck.

"How about you stop being an idiot and move along?" Asked Kyosuke from behind the guy. He just smirked and gave a quick hand gesture, resulting in nothing but silence.

"I guess your comrades aren't coming?" the intruder slowly turned and looked into green eyes and saw so deception in his eyes.

"Maybe you should watch your step, before you become a 'bloody mist'." He laughed uncaringly and pushed on the guy's forehead protector, causing him to stumble backwards, only to find a girl crouched behind his feet, resulting in his flailing and crashing to the ground. Aiko started giggling as she stood from the ground.

"Bloody mist… that's a good one Kyo." She laughed since it was a good choice of words for irritating the mist genin. "Come on, let go talk to my dad… We are so entering this year."

* * *

"Well, you all know why I summoned you here." Naruto announced to a room full of his jonin instructors. They all nodded their head in agreement.

"So then, are there any teams to be recommended for this year's chuunin exam?" The blonde leader looked across the room; this was one of his most favorite times of the year. The chuunin exams was the turning point in a ninja's career and their entire future rested on this event.

"I, Inuzuka Kiba, hereby recommend my entire team to partake in the chuunin exams." Akamaru barked loudly in agreement.

"I Haruno Sakura, hereby recommend my entire team to partake in the chuunin exams." This got a glare from beside her.

"I Yamanaka Ino, hereby recommend my entire team to partake in the chuunin exams." She stated while not taking her eyes off the pink haired jonin. Their rivalry was pushed into the next generation, causing Naruto to let out a low chuckle.

"Ok, any others?" He asked. The room remained quiet making it even easier to hear the office door creak as it opened, revealing a girl in orange and a guy in white. Naruto beamed when he saw her enter.

"Is it time?" He questioned, already knowing the answer from the determined look on her face.

"Yes dad, we are entering this year's chuunin exam."

"Excellent, upon my personal recommendation, and probably everyone else here; consider yourselves registered for the chuunin exam!"

Naruto walked back to his office chair and flopped down on it, only to feel its leg give away, causing him to fall backwards, cracking his head hard against the wall. It had been quite some time since he hit his head that hard. He slowly opened his eyes and everything around him was white. He looked to the left, then to the right. Suddenly a small icon floated above his head and the memories from almost 15 years ago came flooding back to him. Of all the struggles dealing with changing the past and especially of all the times he thought he'd never see the friends he knew.

"_**Your time in this reality has passed; time to move to the next one."**_ Called out the dark voice of the kyuubi, causing Naruto to panic.

"No, this can't… I won't go back! This is my life, I can't lose my wife and daughter." He shouted. There was no way that he could ever believe that it was a fake existence, but if the past was anything to go by, it was possible and that scared him to death. Soon, though, raspy laughter echoed through the white room

"_**Ha, ha, ha… Looks like I still got it." **_Bellowed the jovial laughter of the kyuubi. _**"I can still make a Kage panic."**_

The white world faded away into reality with the laughing of Kurama fading with it. Naruto looked up at the soft lavender eyes of his daughter and started laughing as well. Everyone looked at him with the wonder if he hit his head too hard.

"Dad?" He just threw his head back and laughed even harder.

"To think, we were actually worried about Kurama wearing off on me… It looks like I rubbed off on him." Naruto pulled himself up to his feet when the laughing faded and he threw an arm around his daughter, embarrassing her in front of everyone. After experiencing that ability of Kurama's again, he realized how he could use that much later in life…

* * *

"Alright everyone." Announced the Hokage. Within the great hall sat all his friends, family and extended family. All of his precious people looked upon him with smiling faces waiting for what his announcement was. He gazed at the crowd and looked to his wife who smiled and gave him a gentle nod, showing her support.

"I want to thank you all for coming out to celebrate my birthday. If you would have told me I would be standing before you all like this 30 years ago, I would wonder what you were doing looking at my dreams. I've come a long way and now I'd like to announce the gift you all will all be granting me…"

The room fell into a hushed mumble as they all tried to figure out what he was going to ask of them. Naruto held the pause longer than he needed to just to irritate them some more.

"Well, that's enough of a cliffhanger…" He joked before turning serious. "I've lived my dream and now it is time for others to live theirs… After 16 years, I will retire as Hokage." Gasps broke out followed by voices of disbelief.

"I know, who would have thought… But to be honest I just want to grow old with Hinata, the love of my life. I want to live out my life and enjoy her companionship. And now for my final mission as the Hokage… I would like to congratulate Konohamaru for being nominated as the next Hokage, but before I turn the village over to him, I would like to promote my little sweetie to jonin. Aiko-chan; you deserve it."

He couldn't help but laugh when he saw his 23 year old daughter blush and hide her face after he embarrassed her so thoroughly. He sat down in his seat between his two women and hugged the awkward young woman before kissing his wife. His smile was so wide and as genuine as a man could have at the completion of his dreams. That grin held as the scene faded to white in his eyes, washing out all the faces before it faded back into another.

* * *

A woman with long, dark, bluish hair knelt before the narrowed gaze of a brown haired man dressed in the Hokage clothing. He held up the ceremonial hat of the Hokage to the audience which was gathered at the stadium for this event. She still wore her orange short jacket, but it was now outfitted with black sleeves for the current weather.

"On behalf of the Daimyo of Fire country and the village of Konohagakure, I Sarutobi Konohamaru hereby pass the title of Hokage to Hyuuga Aiko, who descends from the greatest line of Hokage as the daughter of Uzumaki Naruto." The current Hokage reached out and placed the ceremonial hat upon the small woman's head and wrapped the Hokage robes around her shoulders. She stood and grinned wildly at the cheering audience and waved to them. She looked to her right and saw an aging blonde man in a black and orange sitting next to a female Hyuuga, clapping and smiling widely.

Naruto stared at his daughter's face and had a tear roll down his cheek as the scene faded out into a white room. His breath was weak and labored while leaning against the wall of the white room.

* * *

"Kurama…" Called out a weak and shaky voice. His wrinkled face smiled slightly before starting to cough.

"_**Is it time?"**_

"That it is my friend… thanks for letting me relive my favorite memories one last time."

"_**It has been… an eventful life… sleep well."**_

* * *

The white world faded into black followed by one sharp gasp, and a constant high tone from the monitor next to his bed. Tears rolled down aged cheeks from lavender eyes. The woman removed her hand from the lifeless one of the man lying in the hospital bed.

"You've lived a good, long life dad… I know mom was proud to be married to you." Aiko stood and stepped out of the hospital room to the hall. She wiped away the tears on her face and smiled when she picked up her grandson with bright blue eyes and sunny blonde hair, grinning like only a child of three years old could.

"Alright my little Naruto-chan… Let's go get some ramen!"

* * *

End! It was a fun little story, anyways; I'm out of my own ideas, so let me hear some of yours... I'm taking requests. If I get one that sounds like it fits my style, I'll write it.

...Later


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